


Lucky to be Charmed

by eviestevie



Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon divergence - RWBY Volume 7, M/M, Most of this is from Qrow’s POV, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Swearing, There’s a traitor in the ace ops, can you tell who?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29540493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eviestevie/pseuds/eviestevie
Summary: Qrow is in Atlas and working with the infamous group known as the “Ace Operatives”. However, there’s work behind the scenes allowing Salem’s forces to infiltrate the kingdom. One can’t help but wonder how this is happening... or who may be responsible for it.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 75
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is now gonna be my first big multi-chapter project.
> 
> It’s basically volume 7 except it’s based off of a theory that was around at the time about there being a traitor in the Ace Ops because the group broke the rule of 4 and everyone thought that was a little sus 👀
> 
> Hope you enjoy 😊

“I was honestly expecting things to go a lot rougher.”

That statement would have remained true, if it wasn’t for some unfortunate karma.

Ten minutes into their arrival in Atlas, and Qrow was surprised with how well things seemed to be going. There was no complications entering Mantle, they had easily taken down a Grimm attack, and now Ruby’s once presumably dead friend; Penny was found to be alive and well, now announced as the Protector of Mantle under Ironwood’s authorisation. But, of course, these victories were short lived as the group was soon met with bolas restraining them, and just like that, they were apprehended by a group of Huntsmen. A group which Qrow remembered referencing when James arrived at Beacon during the Vytal Festival; his Special Operatives.

He remembered his careless attitude towards James back then and how he couldn’t care less about his authority. However, times where different now, so Qrow had to face his very illegal activities he had been operating with a group of teenagers.

“Hey, Pal! I’m a licensed Huntsman! Just helped save everyone?” He shouted, shuffling in his restraints as he now lay rather foolishly on the floor, looking up at what he assumed was the leader of James’ precious group known as the “Ace Operatives”.

The man smirked, twirling a horseshoe on his finger before leaning down to pick up Harbinger, followed by the rest of the Operatives confiscating the group’s weapons and handing them to the Atlesian Knights that had shown up to help with the arrest. Qrow watched as the man walked over to Ruby and picked up the Lamp, anxiety hitting his stomach out of fear of what would happen to his nieces.

“Hm.” The man muttered, inspecting the Lamp for several seconds.  
“Let's get them loaded into the next transport.”

“Please! We were just trying to help!” Ruby shouted, trying to reason with the strangers.

“What is the meaning of this?” Pietro asked as he approached, coughing slightly from his emotional exertion.  
“What are the Ace-Ops even doing down here in Mantle?”

“Ace-Ops?” Ruby repeated.

Ah. Perhaps Qrow should have warned the kids about James’ favourite toy soldiers.

“Doctor, good to see you.” The leader turned to Penny’s father, smiling a little too friendly at the distressed gentleman.  
“Well, we heard a report of an unauthorized ship making an unauthorized landing, followed by an unauthorized use of weapons by unlicensed Huntsmen.”

Qrow already disliked this guy’s cocky demeanour. It appeared Maria did too, as she was quick to walk away and act like she wasn’t any part of this. Lucky woman.

“If we could just talk this out—“ Pietro, like Ruby, tried to reason with the Ace-Ops, but appeared to be ignored as the leader was too busy tossing the Relic from one hand to the other, investigating its enchanting blue glow. He seemed way too relaxed for being on the job.

“They'll be able to talk this out once they get to Atlas. Let's move out!”

With that, the Ace-Ops split up and left the area while Team RWBY, JNR, Oscar and Qrow are forced into the back of a secure van with their wrists bound.

“Now, this… This is much closer to what I was expecting.” Qrow grumbled as the back doors of the van are slammed shut.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Overall, Qrow decided staying quiet might be the best choice for the time being. As the ship drove with silent passengers, all except for Nora chewing on her restraints, he thought about how humiliating their capture was, and he couldn’t help but think the leader of the Ace-Ops had something to do with it. It just seemed... too easy for them. For him.

The leader... the way he stared at the Lamp...

Perhaps it was just bad luck, as usual. 

“Where do you think they're taking us?” Ruby asked.

“I'm gonna go with jail.” Qrow replied calmly, trying to ease his niece’s nerves, although not sounding too happy himself.

“I still can't believe that fishing pole guy took us out like it was nothing.” Jaune said.

Qrow thought there was definitely something more to that man than a fishing pole.

“Welcome to Atlas.” Weiss scoffed.  
“Those were Ironwood’s Ace Operatives.”

A stranger that had been sitting in the ship with the group noted what Weiss said and spoke up.

“Hmm? You guys had a run-in with the Ace-Ops? Ironwood must really have a bone to pick with you.” He sounded a little too melodramatic for someone who had only been arrested.

Weiss rolled her eyes. “They're not that big of a deal.”

“Not that big of a deal?!” The man repeated, throwing up his restrained hands.  
“The Ace-Ops are the elite-of-elite military Huntsman... and Ironwood's personal attack dogs.”

Qrow’s brows furrowed as he looked down at his restrainted hands. “Attack dogs” was a strange way to describe them.

“So they got you too, huh?” Nora asked, leaning past Ren to look at the man.

“Pfft! I wouldn't let myself get caught by them.” The man said, throwing up his head proudly.  
“I'm here because I've been speaking out against Atlas’ exploitation of Mantle, and General Ironwood is trying to silence me.”

“You threw a brick at our ship!” One of the Pilot’s called back.

“Yet he’s acting like he’s murdered someone or started a revolution.” Qrow thought.

“It's worth it if it gets people talking about our cause!” The man shouted back. The pilot sighed in annoyance.

"... “Our cause"?” Blake asked, raising a brow curiously.

“Yes, the fight for better conditions in Mantle!” He perked up at the question.  
“Lead by the charismatic, talented, lovely Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses!”

The main pilot pressed a button, causing the window between the cab and the back of the ship to begin slowly closing. The man noticed this, stood up and began frantically shouting to the closing window so the guards could still hear him.

“They were all top Atlas Academy graduates, who could've signed up for the military, but Robyn and the Huntresses chose to stay in Mantle. She's gunning for a seat on the Kingdom's council, and when she gets it, she's gonna put an end to Ironwood's tyranny!” He shouted, jumping wildly towards the remaining space of the window until it shut completely in his face.

“Happy… Huntresses?” Oscar echoed.

“So there really is a revolution against James.” Qrow thought, worrying about what this meant for Atlas.

“Is that their real name?” Yang asked, chuckling slightly.

“Don't you think "tyranny" is a little dramatic?” Weiss challenged. The man turned around to respond and looked surprised upon realizing who had spoken.

“Easy to say for a Schnee heiress, living comfortably up in Atlas.” He sneered.

Weiss sighed sadly. “Not anymore.”

Qrow released a heavy breath. The overall conversation wasn’t cheerful, and these kids could wind up in serious trouble now, all because he couldn’t find a better way to get to Atlas... because he was too busy drinking. Honestly, he was the adult in this group, it was his job to keep them safe, but he felt that he hadn’t been of much use lately. 

The airship finally made its way up to Atlas, Qrow watched as Ruby looked out at the city in awe, while Nora is once again chewing at her restraints. She was a good friend to her niece, but certainly a weird one.

“Whoa, it's gorgeous up here!” Ruby commented, causing Jaune and Nora to leave their seats and look out the window with her.

“Don't let that fool you.” Weiss said. 

The man hummed inquisitively, standing from his seat and looking outside.  
“This isn't the police station.” He muttered.

“It's… Atlas Academy.” Qrow said.

The ship docked on a landing pad in front of Atlas Academy and was met by a pair of guards, who opened the ship's rear double doors to let the group, except for the strange man of course, exit out of it. They all gazed up at the towering academy while more guards lined up along the path leading them to the building.

“I guess we will be seeing the General. For better or worse.” Ruby said.

Qrow sighed heavily.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group arrive in Atlas Academy and have quite the chat with General Ironwood, and Qrow gets a brief opportunity to properly meet the leader of the Ace-Ops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank god for the episode transcripts on the wiki 😂😂

The elevator ride, like the van, was extremely quiet. Qrow could feel the anxiety in the air from the kids, the threat of severe punishment now becoming very real for them. He wished he could provide some comfort, but honestly, he wasn’t sure what to say.

“So, what do we do?” Ren asked.

“I don’t know yet. But we should be careful with what we say.” Ruby replied. Qrow noted how one of the guards looked over his shoulder at them, suspicions were definitely high.

“We’ll follow your lead, Ruby.” Blake reassured quietly, making her leader smile a little. A twinge of nostalgia hit Qrow in the chest. Ruby had a good team, he could only hope that they would stay that way, and not turn out like his team did.

The elevator beeped as it arrived at its destination, the guards escorted the group out into a hallway and down a flight of stairs. They arrived in a room just as Ironwood walked through, speaking to someone else. Qrow wasn’t sure if he was happy to see him.

“I swear if I have to sit through one more council meeting like that...” He could be heard muttering. As usual, politics were festering away at him. Ironwood turned towards a small flight of stairs that led to his office, accompanied by Winter Schnee and Penny Polendina. The latter noticed the group, in particular Ruby, and stopped with a delighted gasp.

“Yay, you’re here!” She called excitedly. Penny’s celebratory greeting caught Ironwood and Winter's attention, causing them to stop and look. Weiss stepped out from behind Ruby and approached them.

“Winter.” Weiss said.

The elder Schnee gasped lightly in surprise, and the sisters' reunion is quickly interrupted by Nora leaning in and holding up her bound wrists, grinning whilst waving her fingers.

“Anyone wanna give us a hand with these?” She drawled, smiling as innocently as she could.

Winter took a moment to collect herself, returning to her usual stern demeanor and addressing the guards.

“You have ten seconds to take those off before I start hurting you.” She warned, an icy glare in her eyes. After a moment, the guards were quick to respond, frantically apologising as they removed the restraints from their wrists, allowing them to fall to the floor. As they’re being released, Qrow makes quick eye contact with James, a harsh glare met with a neutral expression from the General.

“Please, come in.” Ironwood gestured down the hall towards the door of his office, the group is soon to follow. He smiled as they entered.  
“It is so good to see all of you.”

“Our reception didn't really convey that.” Yang said as she massaged her wrist, Qrow resisted the urge to chuckle at his niece’s comment.

Ironwood sighed. “I sincerely regret how you were treated by my team.”

Qrow rolled his eyes with a small huff, somehow he found that a little hard to believe, it wasn’t like how they were greeted affected him in any way. Ironwood walked behind his desk and sat down, while Penny and Winter took positions standing at either side of him.

“When a rogue airship entered our airspace, it raised some… red flags. We assumed the ship was stolen.” Ironwood explained.

“Stolen?” Ruby sputtered, laughing awkwardly before taking an apologetic tone.  
“Okay, yeah, it was stolen.”

Ironwood's eyes widened in surprise. Then he smiled as his shoulders moved a tiny bit with a silent chuckle. Qrow could hardly believe that he was taking this so lightly. Winter, meanwhile, found no humor in the situation and began scolding Weiss.

“You stole an Atlas airship?” Weiss watched with a frown as Winter approached her.  
“What were you thinking!? You might've been shot down! How unbelievably irresponsib—“ 

Weiss surprised and interrupted Winter with a hug, catching everyone in the office off guard.

“I'm sorry I worried you. But we did what we had to do.” Weiss said, keeping her arms wrapped around her sister’s neck.

“I…” Winter began, then she sighed and hugged her back, calming down.  
“I suppose I understand.”

Once again, another twinge hit Qrow in the chest, this time one of jealousy for the Schnee’s and how they had a good relationship as siblings. If only it could be like that for him. He was quickly pulled out of his thoughts when he noticed Winter glaring at him.

“But I cannot believe that you allowed this to happen, Qrow.” Winter scolded.

“You try stopping these kids when they have their mind set on something.” Qrow replied, smiling while pointing at the group. The lightheartedness was soon interrupted by the reality of their arrival, Qrow turned to Ironwood.  
“Speaking of which… We have some important information for you that's… confidential.”

Winter and Penny both stepped close to the General’s side, the younger of them speaking up.

“Oh, is it about the Relics?” She suggested.

“Or perhaps the Winter Maiden?” Winter added.

“You told them?” Qrow asked, surprised and also severely concerned. Ironwood nodded, standing from his desk and retrieving the Relic of Knowledge from a drawer, making it grow to its normal size as he held it up.

“Did you really think you were the only one who got to work on a new plan after Beacon? With Ozpin gone, I needed my own team of people I could trust. So yes, I told them. The Ace-Ops too. Which is why I'm so glad you're here… with this.” He gestured to the Relic.  
“Until now, I believed it was impossible to truly turn the tide against Salem. Oz has pushed her back, has kept victory out of her claws, but she will keep returning stronger and stronger… unless we destroy her.”

Dread swells in Qrow’s gut at James’ words. He still didn’t know. He looked over at Ruby, who appeared deep in thought. Qrow decided to trust her judgement.

“But… what about the Atlas Relic?” Ruby asked.

“You mean the Staff of Creation?” Ironwood said.

“It's safe inside the Vault!” Penny answered.

“And the Winter Maiden?” Qrow asked.

“She is secure and in stable condition.” Winter replied.

“Stable condition?” Yang echoed.   
“What does that—“

Qrow quickly cuts her off. “She's, uh, not exactly a spring chicken.”

“I know how this all looks.” Ironwood said, grabbing the attention of the room again.  
“Recalling my military? The embargo? I probably don't seem the most trustworthy right now.”

“Then why continue it?” Blake challenged.

“The people of Mantle are hurting!” Nora warned, concern layering her voice.

“I needed to ensure Salem couldn't infiltrate Atlas. And I wanted my military here, protecting my people.” Ironwood explained.

“But it's not protecting them! It's making everyone hate you.” Yang retaliated.

“It's a price I'm willing to pay.” Ironwood replied.

“It shouldn’t have to be a price.” Qrow thought.

Ironwood reached over to a glowing panel of buttons on his desk and tapped a button that resembled a table emitting light from its surface.   
“Just as you all have been entrusted with the knowledge of Salem's existence, I need you all to trust me. I have a plan.”

Shutters came down outside the windows, darkening the room. A circle in the center of the floor bearing Atlas' emblem began to rise up, prompting Ruby and Oscar to step off of it. As Ironwood spoke and made his way over to it, the circle continued to rise and transformed into a table.  
“Ozpin believed the best way to fight Salem was to do so in secret. Whether that was the right choice or not isn't for me to say. But we find ourselves in a position of needing, well, a new approach.”

“And what do you suggest?” Qrow asked.

Ironwood brought out a tiny remote from his pocket and pressed a button, activating a hologram display of Amity Colosseum which hovered above the table.

“That's… Amity Colosseum.” Jaune muttered.

“Where the Vytal Festival is held?” Oscar asked curiously, still new to the lifestyle of Huntsman.

Ironwood nodded. “Indeed. When Beacon fell and everyone on Remnant lost contact with one another, I knew our current system was outdated. Amity was built to bring the nations together, and it will serve that purpose once again.” He pressed the button again, and the hologram of Amity Colosseum gained an antenna atop it. The group stared at the hologram and looked at each other.

“Isn't it great?” Penny perked.  
“We're not going to just replace Beacon Tower. Building a new tower on top of Amity Colosseum will re-establish global communications!”

Winter also joined the conversation. “By launching the tower high into the atmosphere, our scientists believe we can create a sort of… satellite out of reach of the Grimm and capable of maintaining global communications even if we were to lose another tower.”

“That is great.” Ruby said.

“James... you don't need the entire military for this.” Qrow said, shaking his head.

“I will for the next part, where I finally tell the people about Salem.” Ironwood declared.

The room went silent at that worrying idea.

“Huh, so that's why you withdrew your troops, to handle the panic that would break out in Atlas.” Qrow furrowed his brows as he looked at James.

“Yes, panic is inevitable, and panic brings Grimm. But I believe we are ready. Once Atlas has come to grips with the fight ahead, I'll use Amity Tower to spread the message to all of Remnant.” Ironwood seemed a little too sure of this whole thing.

“But everything will fall apart. Grimm will be everywhere!” Weiss warned.

“You're right, but Atlas is willing and prepared to assist.” Winter replied.

“Trying to hide the truth from the world will eventually kill us all.”Ironwood advocated, pressing a button on his remote, he made the hologram disappear and the table transformed to recede back into the floor while the shutters pulled away from the windows, exposing the group to Atlas’ night sky.

Qrow wasn’t sure about this. “Oz spent his whole life, many lives, keeping this secret.”

“I know. But since Beacon, things have changed.” Ironwood went back to his desk.  
“Without him here to guide us, all I can do is use my best judgment.”

Qrow noticed how Oscar shifted uncomfortably behind the General. As if sensing something, Ironwood stops and looks back.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Actually, Oz isn't completely gone.” Oscar said, trying his best to stand still despite his nerves.

Qrow hesitated before explaining for the young boy. “Uh, Oscar here is… is the next Ozpin.”

Ironwood’s brow raised up in surprise. 

“Oz?” Smiling, Ironwood quickly and eagerly approached the apprehensive Oscar, kneeling in front of him to be at eye level.  
“I'm so glad you're here. I didn't think you—“

Oscar put his hands up and interrupted Ironwood. “Not quite. He's kind of, um, gone... at the moment.”

Ironwood's smile faded, and he lowered his head. “That's not normal. How did he—“

“We don't know.” Ruby cut off. Ironwood, Qrow and Oscar looked at Ruby, she continued.  
“We were in a train crash, and ever since, well… suddenly, Oz wasn't there anymore.”

Ironwood rose to his feet. “That's the worst news yet. Did you learn anything from him about the Relics before…?”

Ruby spoke slowly. “He told us the lamp can answer three questions. But all the questions were used up already.

Concerned looks were shared throughout the room, Qrow worried what Ruby was getting herself into.

Surprisingly, Ironwood seemed to believe it. 

“Right, right.” He muttered, walking back behind his desk and staring out the window.  
“Ozpin told us that too, once upon a time. At least we have you, Oscar. You're safe here in Atlas. Maybe together we can figure out how to bring Ozpin back.”

Oscar grinned. “Thank you, sir. I mean, uh, general. Uh, Ironwood?”

“Still getting used to authority I see.” Qrow thought, smiling to himself.

Ironwood picked up the Relic of Knowledge, walked over to Ruby and offered it to her. To which the young girl looked at confusingly.

“You're giving it back to me?” She asked.

“After what happened with the Ace-Ops, I don't want you to think I'm keeping anything from you, especially something as important as this. For the time being, I think it's safest with the people who brought it here.” He handed her the Relic.

“Um, thank you.” Ruby replied, shrinking the Relic and hooking it to her belt, exchanging a look with Oscar.

Ironwood began once again. “We must work together if we're to fight Salem and win. Now, if you're all on board…”

Ruby thought it over for a few seconds, then looked at Ironwood.

“Tell us how we can help.”

“Good, because getting the Amity Tower ready to launch won't be easy.” He walked back to his desk.  
“But first, I think we need to get those weapons of yours up to our standards.”

A hologram screen appeared, showing footage of Blake drawing her broken katana before their fight against the Sabyrs in Mantle. She smiled sheepishly.

“Remember, this is Atlas. While assisting the military, we will provide you with the best equipment our scientists can devise.” Winter said. That seemed to spark the whole group’s mood up, as cheers and grins lit up their faces. 

Come to think of it, Qrow liked the idea of getting some new clothes.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

After finally being excused from Ironwood’s office, the group saw their old captors talking to one another in the hall. Or, it was more like the young man of the group, a dog Faunus, was chatting excitedly while the rest of them vaguely listened.

“So, that was the second time I got banned. Then there was the third time when—“

“Alright, cut the chatter.” The leader said. They had learned the names of all the Ace-Ops while speaking with Ironwood, so they now knew that the leader’s name was Clover Ebi. Qrow noticed that Clover had silenced the younger man, known as Marrow Amin, once he had seen them approaching. Clover had his eyes directly on Qrow, giving him an unreadable look. However this expression quickly changed to something more welcoming as the two groups stood in front of one another.

Clover stood out from the Ace-Ops and offered his hand to Qrow. “I'd like to sincerely apologize for the miscommunication down in Mantle. We didn't intend to—“

Before Qrow could clasp Clover’s hand, Elm Ederne suddenly pushed her way past them and began frantically shaking Ruby's hand, accidentally flailing her about in the air. Clover’s look of disdain went unnoticed by everyone.

“I feel so bad, honestly! If we had known who you were, we'd be laughing over a hot meal right now.“ Partway through her second sentence, Elm dropped the now-dizzy Ruby on the floor.

“I understand. You were just following orders.” Ruby clambered to her feet, groaning, only to be spun around by Weiss.

“I mean, you could have asked us some questions first.” The ex-heiress huffed.

“Questions are for the weak. But we're all on the same team now. Not that I'm happy about it.” Marrow crossed his arms and soon realised that his tail was wagging. He reached back and grabbed it, much to Harriet’s amusement.

Clover shook his head. “We just wanted to say we're sorry. And that we're looking forward to working with you on our next mission. You might be students, but you've been fighting just as hard as we have, if not harder.”

“Exactly why I'm looking forward to seeing what you kids can do.” Harriet smiled.

“Not everything's a competition, Hare.” Vine sighed.

Qrow noticed from the corner of his eye how Clover watched each discussion intently.

Penny entered the room and slid in front of Ruby, throwing her hands up in excitement.

“C'mon! Let me show you around campus.” She enthusiastically marched away, with Ruby and her friends following close behind. Ironwood exited his office just as Qrow began to walk away from the stairs in front of the office.

“Qrow.” He called. Qrow stopped and turned around, Ironwood descended the stairs and approached him.  
“I meant it when I said it was good to see you again.”

Qrow rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Uh, yeah, you too.”

Ironwood stepped forward slowly and hugged Qrow, who was confused at first but then hugged him back with a smile and an eye roll, patting his back lightly. When he looked up, he saw Clover looking back at him before turning and leaving with the other Ace-Ops.

Qrow really wasn’t sure if he liked this guy. 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Meanwhile, as the group was settling up in Atlas, there was some unwelcome guests wandering around Mantle.

“For the last time, a singular hideout makes us susceptible to discovery.” Watts chided into his earpiece, hacking the traffic post across the street and changing it so he could cross the road.

“But what if we're seen? What if we're recognized?” Tyrian asked, doing business of his own on the other side of town.

“We stay mobile.” Watts replied, wincing at the sound of multiple stabbings heard over the communication device. Such a barbaric technique.

“We're walking around a city with a thousand eyes.” Tyrian warned.

Watts changed another traffic signal and crossed the street without pause, causing cars to come to a screeching halt. He sighed nonchalantly. “While cybersecurity has been stepped up in Atlas, as usual, none of the code was updated in Mantle.” 

“Well, what will you do about our lack of eyes in the sky?” Tyrian quirked, challenging the doctor and giggling to himself.

“Don’t worry. You know I’ve found a pair of eyes for us to keep an eye on the dear General and his embargo.” Watts walked across another street, hacking another system to make a blockade of posts rise up from the road, which a car crashed into as it swerved to go around him.

Tyrian chuckled. “That certainly sounds useful.”

“It should be.” Watts paused and pressed his thumb to one of his rings. All the nearby security cameras powered down.  
“I helped us get those eyes and I wrote that code, after all.”

On Tyrian’s end, muffled screaming is heard from inside a building, while the camera next to its door powers down thanks to Watts. The door opened, and Tyrian stepped out, shutting the door behind him with a happy sigh. “Well, I suppose we all have our talents.”

Tyrian strolled away down an alley, while a pool of blood flowed out from under the door. The blood slowly made its way into the view of the hacked security camera. Only for the footage to be deleted by the doctor. Never to be seen, nothing to suspect.

Yet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group are settling and getting ready for their first mission with the Ace-Ops. This gives Qrow the opportunity to talk with the friendly leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a little bit of Qrow angst cause the poor guy still struggles with his misfortune 🥺 The little story bits about Qrow are just my own headcanons
> 
> Hope you enjoy 😊

Qrow stood in the Atlas locker room staring at the mirror while inspecting his new outfit repeatedly. Overall, he enjoyed his new look, it felt fresh and rejuvenating. It was clearly a stark contrast to what he used to wear. The memories of that outfit... weren’t pleasant. 

How many times where his clothes stained with his own blood from missions? How often did the stench of alcohol cling to the fabric? It would last for days, making him ashamed to go back home on Patch in case his nieces or Tai would catch the smell and realise how helplessly addicted to the bottle he truly was.

He shook his head of those poisonous thoughts. He was changing now, for his nieces, for himself. And he was determined to get it right. This time wouldn’t be like the others, not like when he was younger and he’d come home to the concerned gaze of his team leader, listening to her worries but never really taking them in, instead drowning his sorrows in liquor as he trudged off to his room. Qrow always promised Summer he would stop, but he never did. 

That would soon change, because by now, Qrow was sure his life depended on it this time. A clean slate was desperately needed for Qrow, that meant getting rid of his past self and starting anew. However, there was a part of himself that he wasn’t sure he could let go of.

He looked down at his necklace in the mirror, he had kept this piece of jewellery for many years now. Maybe it was time to get rid of it. Removing it from his neck and holding it in his palm, a memory was suddenly sparked to life in his mind.

His mother.

This necklace belonged to her once, Qrow had only taken it as his own after she passed away. It felt... wrong to keep wearing it, but at the same time he found it hard to look at, recalling how he would rant about faith while in his many drunken states. It was ironic really, he knew his mother wasn’t a religious woman, showing no belief in gods or any other higher power. If only she knew now. He remembered how she wore it properly, sitting vertically on the centre of her clavicle, Qrow however chose to wear the cross at an angle. Perhaps it was a way to show his lack of faith, as he could never believe that there was a god or gods that controlled this world.

Once again, how ironic.

“Looking sharp, Branwen.”

Qrow jumped slightly as he was pulled out of his thoughts, turning to look at the doorway to see who interrupted him.

“Oh, hey Clover.” He grumbled back. How long had he been standing there?

“You getting rid of that?” Clover asked, pointing at the cross in his hand.

Qrow paused. “I don’t know. It’s kinda... sentimental. But...”

“Doesn’t fit your aesthetic?”

He narrowed his eyes. “No... just I’m not really a faithful man, that’s all.”

“Hey, faiths not for everybody.” Clover commented.  
“Although, some people find it... comforting I guess; to have something, or someone, to believe in... something to follow. A higher power and all, y’know?”

Qrow thought back to the “faith” he once had in Ozpin. “I suppose I get that.”

“It’s up to you. Personally? If it’s sentimental then you should probably keep it. Even if it’s not about faith.” Clover said as he leaned against the doorframe, folding his arms.

“... Are you faithful, Clover?”

“I wouldn’t say faithful. However, I’m a believer in chance.”

“Chance?” Qrow echoed, confused by what he meant.

“Chance. Probability. Luck... I think a person can tip things in their favour if they try.” Clover smiled.

Qrow scoffed. “What if fate goes against a person?”

“Then maybe they’re looking at it from the wrong angle.” Clover replied.

The wrong angle. What a load of bullshit.

Growing frustrated, Qrow glared at Clover. “Look, do you want something? Or do you just like to bother people?”

Clover raised his brow in surprise, then he chuckled.

“No bothering meant.” He raised up his hands in defence.  
“I’m... actually here to apologise.”

“Why?” Qrow asked.

“Well, for arresting you and your group obviously.” Clover smiled again. Always so friendly.  
“We’re all gonna be working together now, that means no grudges. So... no hard feelings?”

Clover offered out his hand. Hesitantly, Qrow clasped it and shook. He thought about how Clover seemed very adamant on getting this apology, considering he tried to do it back after their chat with Ironwood, of course before getting interrupted.

“You seem very friendly for a guy who arrested us a couple days ago.” Qrow said.

“I’m a friendly guy.” Clover replied, a cocky grin on his face.

Okay. It was a little annoying, but maybe Qrow could get used to Clover’s... persistent positive attitude.

“So... you ready for your first mission with the Ace-Ops?” Clover asked.

“I’ll try and contain my excitement.” Qrow replied dryly.

Finally, the Ace-Ops token poster boy left Qrow to himself, reminding him to meet up in Ironwood’s office, just in case he somehow forgot. Qrow sighed and looked down at the necklace still sitting in his hand. He didn’t have many things of his mother’s, so he stuffed the necklace into his breast pocket and then headed off in the same direction as the rest of the group, hoping this mission would go somewhat smoothly despite him being surrounded by so many people.

“Fate don’t bite me now.” He thought.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

With the group’s upgrades and new outfits finally provided, it was time to prepare for their first official mission in Atlas. The kids listened intently as Clover stood in front of the central table in Ironwood’s office, looking at a hologram screen that displayed mission details.

“All right, gather 'round. Our mission today is to secure the launch site for the Amity Communications Tower. The designated area is an abandoned dust mine. Since its closure, the Grimm have moved in.” Clover sifted through the mission overview, showing a photograph of Huntsmen battling a Geist.  
“The good news is all that untouched Dust is still down there, too. Science team says they'll need it for the first phase of their launch.”

Qrow was surprised that it was Clover giving the briefing instead of someone like Ironwood. It seemed like he had access to the mission files easily, so James must have gave Clover this job to take some weight off his shoulders.

“Atlas military Huntsmen are already hard at work clearing out the surrounding tundra. But recon has identified a powerful Geist that's managed to evade destruction and take several lives. After we increased our numbers, the Geist was smart enough to retreat into the mine itself, meaning it's old and extremely dangerous.” Clover withdrew a compact Scroll and pressed a button, causing the photograph of Huntsmen battling the Petra Gigas to take up the entirety of each screen.  
“This is our target.”

The hologram screens above Ironwood's table were then replaced with a 3D hologram map displaying the SDC mine.

“The mine was a labyrinth back in the day. There's all sorts of tunnels and chambers the Geist can move between, so if we're gonna kill this thing, we'll have to split up and corner it.” Clover explained in vigorous detail, clearly showing his determination to get this job done.

For someone who acted so casual, he really seemed to be driven by his work.

“General Ironwood says you've seen your fair share of combat. I trust that man with my life, so tomorrow, I'll be trusting you all, too.” Clover smiled at the group, however Qrow noticed that the smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Three Manta ships drew close to the compound of the abandoned dust mine. In the first ship was Team RWBY, Harriet and Marrow. In the second, Team JNR, Elm and Vine. And in the final one was Clover and Qrow.

“Let's make it happen, people.” Clover spoke into his earpiece before sparing a quick glance to Qrow and leaping out of the ship. This was fine. Qrow could handle this. Surely his semblance wouldn’t be so cruel to just one person.

Would it?

Qrow and Clover slid down a sheer icy incline, landing on a cliff just outside of the tunnel opening. Clover pressed his finger to his earpiece, subtly watching while Qrow brushed off his new outfit.

“This is Alpha squad. LZ's clear. Proceeding on foot.” Clover spoke, then both of them stepped into the mine.

As they walked through, Clover continued talking to the kids through his earpiece. “You've all got fancy new Scrolls, so don't forget to use 'em. Keep your eyes and ears open. I want an update if you encounter the target. Alpha out.”

Qrow watched as Clover spoke to them. For a military man, he seemed to be good with kids. Clover caught on to his watching and grinned at him.

“You think they’ll understand all this military jargon?”

“They’re smart. They’ll get used to it.” Qrow replied, facing ahead and shoving his hands into his pockets.

He felt a sense of pride for those kids. Despite their hardships, they had pulled through better than anybody could have predicted. However, they were all taking a chance by lying to Ironwood, Qrow just hoped it wouldn’t be too damaging in the long run.

The two of them walked down the long tunnel slowly, different colors of dust veins lighting up the walls and reflecting in the ice. It was quiet, and Qrow wasn’t sure if he liked it. He wasn’t sure if he liked any of this. The anxiety of something potentially going wrong beginning to eat away at him. So, he decided to try speaking up, maybe even try expressing his worries without showing how afraid he really was.

“Gotta say, I'm still not really used to working with other Huntsmen in the field.” He said.

“But you were on a team before, weren't you?” Clover asked.

Qrow was surprised he knew that, but he didn’t show it. He sighed. “Long time ago. I just found working alone tends to be for the best.”

Clover shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I think that's a shame.”

Suddenly, Qrow slipped and fell forwards, he was ready to curse himself out and braced for the feeling of solid ice smacking him in the face. Then, he felt a hand catching his arm and pulling him back up. Qrow frowned at Clover while he walked away, using his communicator.

“Alpha here. Give me an update.” He said, acting as if Qrow didn’t almost make a fool of himself.

Qrow felt his face heat up with embarrassment, he was completely ready to just fall and maybe even listen to Clover laugh at him for it. He wasn’t expecting him to help. It was pointless to overthink, but Qrow couldn’t help but feel ashamed, as he was reminded of all the other times he just let himself fall or get hurt, as he thought there was no way of ever stopping it. 

It was just his luck.

Qrow continued walking and caught up with Clover, catching onto the end of the conversation. He could hear Harriet complaining about a cave-in and how it was going to take some time to figure out a way through.

“Understood. Let us know if you need anything.” Clover replied, ending the conversation and continuing to walk in silence with Qrow.

Distant sounds of gunshots and fighting could be heard echoing through the halls of the mine.

“I guess they’ve found a way through.” Clover muttered, Qrow nodded in agreement.

A rumbling was heard a little too close. Both Huntsmen placed their hands on their weapons and stood back to back, circling around and listening to the rumbling. Waiting to see if it got closer or further away. In a split second, Clover saw a black mist emitting from one of the cracks in the walls, and shouted out.

“There!” He struck at the gap with his foot, and the Geist suddenly bursted out.

“Quick little bastard.” Qrow grumbled.

Clover made a call over their communicators. “This is Alpha! We've engaged the target!”

Qrow fired repeatedly at the Geist, which swerved and spiralled around in the tunnel, avoiding the bullets.

“All squads head toward our position!” Clover deployed his fishing rod and sent the hook out at the Geist, just barely missing it. The Geist swooped into a giant chunk of ice with a minecart imbedded into it and rose up, gathering more ice, rocks and metal to form its body. Clover ran forward to attack it, while Qrow stood back and observed. He noticed a chunk of ice pressing against a metal support beam, steadily pushing the beam off of the tunnel wall.

“Wait, stop!” Qrow shouted, fear spiking his veins.

Clover turned to look at Qrow, then noticed the beam, which fell and landed between Clover and the Geist. The impact created a large cloud of dust, blinding Qrow for several worrying moments. When the cloud settled, Qrow saw that the ground beneath the Geist had collapsed, and somehow Clover was completely fine. 

Clover looks down the hole, frowning, while Qrow ran up beside him, ignoring how fast his heart was beating from the close call.

“Darn it.” Clover muttered, then he messaged into his earpiece.  
“Target escaped, last seen headed east.”

“Of course the token boy doesn’t swear.” Qrow thought, beginning to relax again.

“Thanks for the call-out. That could have been bad.” Clover smiled at him, Qrow didn’t return it.

He sighed. “I wouldn't thank me. My semblance brings misfortune. Sometimes I can't keep it under control.”

“That so?”

Qrow looked up at Clover, who is looking back at him with a slight smile. Again, always with the smiling. Clover checked his Scroll, then looked up at the bent support beam next to the hole in the ground.

“Well, hey, don't beat yourself up about it.” Clover said, casting his line to wrap around the beam and jerking it down. The beam pulled a large amount of rocks down with it. He then turned to Qrow with a delightful smile.

“My Semblance is good fortune. Lucky you, huh?” He winked at him.

Clover walked on ahead, using his communicator, while Qrow stared blankly at him.

“Charlie, Bravo, you should be able to cut off the target at the heart of the mine. Qrow and I won't be far behind.”

Brought out of his trance by the mention of the mission, Qrow looked away, then hurried after Clover.

Good luck. No wonder he was so friendly and positive. He was the complete opposite of Qrow in every way, and now he wasn’t sure if he hated him or envied him for it.

Communication broke through with a message being sent out to everybody by Vine.

“Everyone use caution. This room is highly active with Dust energy. Triggering it could ruin the launch site.”

Then, Marrow’s voice could be heard. “And vaporize us. How is that always second with you?”

“Looks like they’ve all found each other.” Qrow said.

“Then let’s go.” Clover replied.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

All throughout their way down the halls towards the heart of the mine, low rumbling noises could be heard, as well as the sounds of the Ace-Ops making call outs to one another. Qrow watched his Scroll as they got closer to their position, whatever the Geist had done now was causing the walls to shake, so he hoped that the kids weren’t getting hurt.

Although, he supposed as long as he wasn’t nearby, they should really be fine. Maybe even better than if he was close.

As they entered into the large room, they saw that the Gigas had fused Dust to its body, and the Ace-Ops were trying to cut off its limbs while simultaneously keeping the Dust from hitting the floor and reacting. Qrow watched as Marrow cut off the Geist's second arm, sending another Dust crystal flying through the air.

“Crap!” The young man shouted.

The crystal flew through the air towards Clover and Qrow. At first, he thought maybe he should fire at it so it would just break to pieces and become harmless. Clover however, had other ideas as he caught the piece of Dust easily.

“What would you guys do without me?” Clover chuckled.

There it was, that cockiness again.

Clover tossed the crystal to Qrow, who looked at him with an eyebrow raised. Clover saluted to him and jumped backwards off the cliff to join the fight. Qrow watched as Harriet sped around the Petra Gigas' feet, while Vine swung himself around and punched it in the chest. Harriet taunted the creature by whistling and waving at it, then ran away when it tried to hit her. Elm took that opportunity to slam her hammer onto the rock composing part of the Petra Gigas' arm. The rock became stuck to the ground, and as the Grimm struggled to pull it up, Marrow severed its arm once again.

Clover was now on the ground, deploying his fishing rod and running over to the Petra Gigas. He jumped off its leg and launched himself into the air. What no one in the group saw was Clover flick his pin with his thumb, then he swung his pole and pulled on the fishing line, directing it to wrap around the Geist's mask and hook onto it. 

Qrow looked over and saw Team RWBY and JNR watching in amazement, their eyes widening at the impressive acts of their superiors. 

Clover let out a yell as he yanked his weapon, forcing the Geist out of the ice block. Harriet was quick to follow, running into position and using her Semblance to launch straight up into the air, punching the Geist with her weapon and killing it. 

Overall a neat and successful execution, but there was still one other problem. Gravity Dust crystals began raining down from the Petra Gigas’ now lifeless body. The Ace-Ops sprung into action once more, catching the crystals with ease. One crystal is seen flying through the air on the other side of the chamber.

Clover felt a wave of panic. 

“Harriet!” He shouted.

Harriet sped across the room, manoeuvring around the falling ice and rocks. She was mere feet away from catching the Dust, but a sudden red blur flew in front of her, taking the crystal with it. Surprised, Harriet tumbled and came to a clumsy stop. Qrow felt a surge of pride as he saw Ruby sitting on the floor, hugging the large crystal tight and giggling to herself for her unexpected save. 

While the group chatted and celebrated, Qrow jumped down to the ground next to Clover, who puts his weapon away.

“Lucky catch, huh?” Qrow smirked, the pride in his chest for Ruby washing away his previous negative thoughts about luck.

“Hm. No. I'd chalk that one up to talent.” Clover said, watching Elm carry Ruby up on her shoulder.

As Qrow walked away to praise his niece, Clover quickly pulled out his Scroll and typed a message. Then, he put it away and pressed his finger to his earpiece.

“Atlas Control, this is Clover. Mission accomplished.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Down in Mantle, Tyrian is laughing to himself as usual, taking deep breaths as his eyes turn back from purple to its normal gold colour. The thrill of a murder now sinking into his skin, allowing him to revel in the taste. He shook his tail clean of the blood he spilled, tutting for his unfortunate victim.

“Oh poor, poor... uh, Forest was it? Yes, that was it.” He giggled maniacally at his lonely chatter.

A “ping” sound was heard from his Scroll, he pulled it out of his pocket and saw a message from Watts.

“Eyes in the sky are clear. Their mission was a success.”

“Oh... what a good little soldier.” Tyrian laughed, his cackling echoing into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group’s first mission with the Ace-Ops is now completed, however that doesn’t mean their job is done quite yet, as problems from Atlas and Mantle begin to rise.
> 
> But first, there’s a group of kids that need promoting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Qrow doesn’t do a lot this chapter and it’s just a lot of observing in the first half. However we’re getting some more bonding with Clover so that’s always good.
> 
> Also there’s a hint at some Clover backstory so that’s always good 👀

As the sun began to set over the mountains around the abandoned Dust mine, four trucks drove up the road to the entrance, and Amity Colosseum floated towards it in the sky. There was a positive feeling in the atmosphere as the success of the mission had brought up everyone’s mood. In fact, everyone was too caught up in their joy to notice two figures laying low in the area with binoculars, observing the operation closely.

“What do you think?” Joanna asked, both of them gazing up at the colosseum.

“Oh yeah... we gotta tell Robyn about this.” Fiona replied, pushing herself up on her elbows for a clearer view, resuming her observation through the binoculars.

Soon after the trucks had arrived at the entrance, Team RWBY, JNR, Qrow and the Ace-Ops stepped out of the mines. Qrow watched a smiling Marrow look over at Clover and then saw how he attempted to put on a more serious demeanour to mimic his leader. Qrow smiled, in a way, Marrow reminded him of his niece when she first started training under his wing. Ruby, Jaune and Nora all came together to gaze admirably at the Ace-Ops, while Ren, Blake, Weiss and Yang watched them with wide eyes. Nora let out a high pitched squeal of excitement while Jaune rushed over to Clover's side.

“You guys were incredible!” He said, switching to be in front of Clover and began energetically gesturing as he talked.  
“Oh, the way you took down that Geist without needing to plan your tactics out, you just knew exactly what to do!”

Clover rolled his eyes. “Well, Ace-Ops are hand-picked to perfectly compliment one another. So we can focus on our assets and leave our liabilities behind.”

Marrow then walked over with a confident smile. “Some of us are all asset, zero liability.”

As he posed with a salute and a grin, Elm scoffed at him, catching Marrow's attention. He moved over to her, leaning in to confront her. “Wha— Yeah? Think I've got some liabilities, Elm?”

“Your brains, for one.” Elm replied, smirking as Marrow let out a groan and pouted. Clover, Elm and Harriet all let out a laugh at their younger member. No one seemed to notice how Clover’s smile disappeared quicker than the others. The three members walked away.

“You did ask.” Vine commented as he followed.

While the kids all spread out to speak to the Ace-Ops, with Qrow vaguely hearing Nora say something about “thunder thighs” to Elm, he saw how Ruby ran over to chat with her similar semblance buddy, Harriet.

“Perfect complementary teamwork. Oh, yeah, I want to have my friends' backs just like that.” Ruby smiled, while Harriet raised a brow at her.

“Friends?” She echoed. Elm laughed.

“This isn't the schoolyard, kid.” She said. Behind Elm, Nora was posed with her hammer in the air, once again muttering about “thunder thighs” before being lifted and carried away by Ren.

Again, Qrow thought Nora was a weird friend of Ruby’s.

Yang spoke up. “But, I mean, when you go through so much with someone, it kind of changes things, doesn't it?”

Harriet shrugged. “We get along well enough, sure. I count on them to keep me alive. They do the same. But that's the job. We don't confuse the two.”

RWBY’s demeanour seemed to sink at Harriet’s words. 

“Speaking of the job…” Clover said, turning to look further down the way. Qrow followed his gaze and saw Ironwood talking on a communicator and giving orders to a soldiers.  
“Duty ever beckons. You all hang back a second.”

The Ace-Ops headed over to Ironwood and Ruby hurried over to her teammates, attempting to lighten the mood with the idea of sightseeing.

As both groups spoke, Qrow felt stuck in the middle. He had just found out that Clover’s semblance was good luck, the complete opposite of himself. If he stuck around, maybe Clover could balance him out, and then he could finally work with other people again. However, the Ace-Ops idea of a team opposed everything Team RWBY was taught, hell, even what his own team was taught back in the day. He wondered if Clover shared Harriet’s ideals, as he seemed too friendly to view being an Ace-Op as “just a job”.

Maybe he was just showing this kindness to Qrow? The thought of that sent a strange feeling of warmth to his chest. 

The idea of being known... it didn’t seem so bad.

Qrow brought himself back to the present and saw Ruby’s attempts at team bonding didn’t seem to be working, as the rest of them looked dead on their feet and ready for bed. He decided to save his niece from her pointless requests for a day out.

“Hey. Heads up.” He called, pointing his thumb over at Ironwood, who is talking to Clover while the other Ace-Ops walked away.

Ironwood looked over at them. “Can I get the team leaders over here? There's something I'd like to discuss with you. You too, Qrow.”

Ruby, Jaune and Qrow walked over to Ironwood, who was still speaking to Clover.

“I need you on the ground, but be subtle. If people see too many Huntsmen milling around, they'll get nervous.”

Clover saluted, his expression much more serious. He spared a quick glance at Qrow before walking away.

“And Clover?” Ironwood stopped him, Clover turned back.  
“Don't take Marrow.”

Clover looked over at Marrow, who seemed to be having fun retelling his mission to a random soldier. He then looked back at Ironwood, and as if a switch had been flicked, he smiled and chuckled with a nod. Qrow found it odd how quickly his mood seemed to change. Clover headed in Marrow's direction towards the ship, getting ready for Ironwood’s new job.

Qrow ignored the anxiety that flared in his chest now that his new good luck charm was leaving. “New problems in Mantle?”

Ironwood sighed. “More of the same, unfortunately.”

He pulled out his Scroll, bringing up a screen in front of him. The left side of the screen displayed a mugshot of the man who shared the van with the group a few days ago, his name listed as Forest. While the right side displayed a photograph of Forest's corpse in an alleyway somewhere in midtown Mantle.

“Someone in Mantle is taking out public leaders who speak out against Atlas. Specifically, people who speak out against me.” Ironwood explained, his brows furrowing in worry.  
“It didn't look like a pattern at first. But this is the third murder of its kind in the last week.”

Jaune stepped forwards and pointed at the screen. “Wait a minute. That's the guy that rode with us after we were arrested.”

“He died?” Ruby whispered, holding her hand up to her mouth.

“Your opposition in Mantle dropping dead isn't exactly a good look for you, huh?” Qrow asked.

Ironwood deactivated the screen and put his Scroll away. “Not really worried about my public image, but it is causing unrest. I think someone's trying to frame me and, by extension, Atlas. And it's working.”

Suddenly, Jaune spoke up. “Well, if it wasn't for the embargo making everybody so mad, people probably wouldn't be so quick to blame you for everything else.”

Ironwood, Qrow and Ruby all turned to look at him in surprise. Jaune awkwardly cleared his throat and stood at attention.

“S-sir.”

Ironwood stared at Jaune for a moment, then he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “No. No, you're right. Things in Mantle have been... hard to manage lately. I'm not blind to its issues. In fact, that's what I want to talk to you about.”

“Surprised he’s concerned at all.” Qrow thought.

Ironwood turned to look up at Amity Colosseum. “With the launch of this mobile communications tower and tensions down in Mantle, I think there's a lot of good your teams can do here.”

A beep from Ironwood’s communicator, and he put his fingers to it, listening. Then his face turned to one of surprise and what appeared to be irritation.

“What? Already? Here? No, it's fine. Let him land. I'll deal with him myself.”

Qrow and Ruby looked each other, and then at Ironwood.

“More Mantle problems?” Qrow asked. They watched an airship fly by on its way to the landing pad.

“No. This one's an Atlas problem.” The General sighed.

The ship, bearing the SDC logo, descended onto a landing pad, where Ironwood and Team RWBY were already waiting, with Team JNR and Qrow standing further back. A ramp extended from the front of the ship's double door, which opened to reveal an angry, and very unwelcome, Jacques Schnee. As soon as the doors began to open, he started ranting as he made his way down the ramp.

“So let me get this straight, James. In addition to this nonsensical embargo of yours crippling my business, you've also decided you have the authority to commandeer private property?”

His voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard to all those that dared to listen. Qrow found it hard to believe that one simple embargo was “crippling” Mr Schnee’s precious multi-million company.

Jacques stopped in front of Ironwood, who calmly stared back at him, arms folded behind his back.

Jacques pointed straight at Ironwood. “When the Council hears about this, you will never—“

“Actually, I've already informed them. As this is now the site of a classified military operation, it didn't even require a vote.” Ironwood interrupted calmly.

“Didn't require a vote?!” Jacques shouted.

“You might want to brush up on Council law before you lose this upcoming election, Jacques.” Ironwood smirked, something Qrow wasn’t sure he could actually do until now.  
“Now. I've allowed you to land here once as a courtesy. The next time, it won't be a friendly reception.”

Jacques glared at Ironwood. “Lately, you seem to forget who your friends really are. I'm going to get that Council seat, James, and maybe then, you'll—“

Jacques became distracted, his eyes widening when he realised Weiss is present. They stare at each other for a moment.

“You...” He growled, walking past Ironwood, glancing at him as he does so.  
“You roped my missing daughter into these schemes of yours, too?”

Jacques turned back around to look at Ironwood. Anger clear in his face.

“How long has she been back in Atlas? Did Winter know about this?”

Weiss became annoyed and stepped forward to Jacques. Qrow noticed how the rest of the girls tensed up when their teammate went towards her bastard father. Qrow stood with his fists clenched, ready in case he tried to lay a hand on her.

“It was my decision to come here. Just like it was my decision to leave. Or have you forgotten all about that?” Weiss stood tall, a hand resting on her hip.

“If you think I'm one to forget anything, girl, then you've misjudged the man your father is.” Jacques snarled back.

Weiss folded her arms and turned her nose up at Jacques. “Believe me, I know exactly the kind of man you are.”

Qrow held back a snort. He liked this kids sass.

Jacques became infuriated. “How dare you speak to me that way!? I have half a mind to—“

“Half a mind to what, Jacques?” Ironwood asked calmly. Jacques narrowed his eyes, then adjusted his cuff link, sighing angrily, a desperate attempt to cling onto his dignity. Then, a gleam entered his eyes, and he used a different approach.

“You know... your mother was devastated when you left.” That struck Weiss deep, as her expression changed to one of worry. Jacques continued.  
“Didn't leave her room for days. You know how… she gets... when she's upset.”

Jacques fake act of sadness made Qrow’s blood boil. He saw how the bastard took a moment to peek at Weiss' reaction. Her eyes glimmering with sadness as she looked down at the floor frowning. Qrow had heard the rumours of the allusive Willow Schnee, the woman that hid from her name inside the cold walls of Schnee Manor. If just Jacques’ words could make his daughter upset like this, he couldn’t imagine what the man had done to his wife.

Ruby looked upset, while Blake and Yang glared at Jacques, who smirked as he turned to face Ironwood again. “I knew one day, you would overextend your reach. I didn't come here to beg for an abandoned mine. I came here to thank you… for personally handing me the noose to hang you.”

Qrow saw how Weiss looked around, noticing that her teammates had come to her side. Blake held her hand tightly and gave a comforting nod. A twinge of jealousy hit Qrow, if only his team had each other’s back’s like this when they were younger.

Blake and Yang gave Jacques plenty of cold stares, while Ruby looked at Weiss with a smile of comfort. A silent promise that they would hold strong.

“You'll regret this.” Jacques warned, turning to look back at Weiss.  
“So these are the little friends you threw everything away for?”

Weiss shook her head. “Not friends... family.”

Ruby smiled wide, and Yang smirked. Meanwhile, Blake held a glare at Jacques. Qrow understood she felt a seething hatred for such a cruel man, as well as sympathy for her teammate, since she could relate to what she had gone through. Being controlled was a horrible thing.

Jacques hummed, if the unity of Team RWBY affected him, then he certainly didn’t show it. He returned to his airship and took off. Ruby, Blake and Yang turned their attention to Weiss with concern, the young Schnee exhaled heavily with relief and dropped her strong, confident facade. The ship flew away and the tension left Qrow’s shoulders, honestly, he was a little disappointed that he didn’t get the opportunity to punch Jacques.

A truck arrived on the platform. As it came to a stop, Winter opened the passenger side door and peeked out, looking up at the leaving ship.

“Oh, now you show up, Winter.”Weiss joked with a smile.  
“You just missed father.”

Winter stepped out of the truck and headed towards her sister, still glancing up at the sky. “I wouldn't say I missed hi—“

From the sky, Penny came crashing down, landing on one knee. The force from her landing sent Team RWBY flying with multiple screams, while Winter steadied herself against the shockwave. Penny straightened up and threw her hands into the air, the word "CONGRATULATIONS!" appeared above her head as a green hologram, bright green confetti spawning from it with a party horn sound.

“Surprise!” She shouted. The hologram flickered when she noticed Team RWBY on the ground, her grin and the hologram both fade.  
“Uh, did we not start yet?”

Winter put her fingertips to her forehead in exasperation. Ironwood stared with a wide-eyed grimace, while faint groaning could be heard from Ruby. Qrow wasn’t sure whether to go help or burst out laughing.

“Apparently, we haven't.” Winter sighed.

Nearby, Jaune and Nora laughed, while Ruby stood up with a look of confusion.

“Start what?” She asked.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

After the sun finished setting, RWBY, JNR, Qrow, Winter, Penny and Ironwood gathered in the center of Amity Colosseum's arena. RWBY and JNR stood lined up, with Ironwood, Winter and Penny standing across from them. Meanwhile, Qrow stood off to the side, watching proudly.

“It goes without saying that this arena holds a significance to all of us. It's only fitting that we should be able to reconvene here. Now. When the world needs to be brought together more than ever. The road you traveled from our first meeting hasn't been easy.” While Ironwood talked, he began walking along in front of RWBY and JNR. Penny, who is holding a tablet-sized Scroll, excitedly bounced up and down next to Winter, who placed a hand on her shoulder to hold her still.

“You fought for your school and your friends at Beacon. You fought for the world and the innocent at Haven Academy and beyond. You faced down terrors people can't even fathom. That's not the behavior of students. It's the behavior… of Huntsmen and Huntresses.” Ironwood looked over at Penny, who happily began humming and walking past JNR and RWBY, stopping in front of each of them to tap on her Scroll. With each tap, her Scroll emitted a beep and one of the group’s Scroll buzzes. 

Ren's Scroll is the first to buzz, he removed it from his pocket to open it, checking the screen. It displayed his student license,  
the screen blinked, and the license suddenly changed. The Kingdom of Atlas symbol is now in the background behind the information instead of the Vale one. It had been updated to an official Huntsman license.

“Wait... what is this?” Ren asked.

Everyone else checked their Scrolls as Penny continued tapping hers while walking down the line. All changing their licenses from students of Vale, to Huntsman of Atlas.

“You are being granted your Huntsman licenses, today.” Winter said. Penny finished granting everyone their licenses and walked away with a big grin. Her Scroll displaying the Atlas Huntsman License Registry.

“I know this is coming a little ahead of schedule, but Brothers know you deserve it. I only regret that I couldn't do something a little more ceremonious for the occasion.” Ironwood said.

Qrow watched as Ruby stared in awe at her license. Her silver eyes lighting up brighter than he had ever seen before.

“I—“ She stammered, glancing at her friends.  
“We… we're honored, General Ironwood. But you really don't have to do th—“

“Please. With the threat of Salem still out there and tensions rising in our Kingdom, I certainly could use more trustworthy fighters by my side.” Ironwood smiled, not noticing how Team RWBY looked at each other. Yang and Weiss' faint smiles faded, and Blake's cat ears drooped.

“I should be so lucky to have all of you.” He said as he walked.  
“It's okay. It's a big moment. And what better way than to celebrate here? When this tower is ready and communications are back up and running, we'll tell the world about Salem and face down whatever comes at us after that, together.”

RWBY and JNR stood in silence. Qrow saw James’ shoulders sag.

“That's… just about all the pomp I have in me.” He sighed, awkwardly adjusting his tie.  
“If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to running this operation. Um… Well, then. Enjoy the cake.”

Ironwood walked away, with Winter following. Penny popped up with a hand raised in the air.  
“Your speech outros are improving, sir!”

“Nice kid.” Qrow thought.

RWBY and JNR look at their licenses.

“After everything we've been through, I almost forgot this is what I wanted in the first place.” Yang said.

“When Beacon fell, I didn't think this would even be possible.” Blake muttered.

“It almost feels trivial now.” Weiss added.

Qrow shook his head in disbelief. “Geez, guys, lighten up a little. Enjoy yourselves for a change. You've earned it.”

“Finally! Someone said it. Let's kill some cake, huh?” Nora chirped, moving forward and throwing a fist in the air.  
“Because I can eat two slices before Ren even eats one. Who says I can't? Who says it, huh!?”

Ren leaned over to her. “Nora, nobody is arguing with you about this.”

A short while later, all of the kids except Ruby gathered around a cake. Ruby instead sat nearby in the bleachers, watching as Penny used six of her swords to cut the cake into perfectly even slices. Weiss and Ren stood together, eating their personal slices and watching in awe as Nora came over to them with a stack of six slices. They stare in surprise as Nora eats an entire slice in one bite. Meanwhile, Yang is showing off her prosthetic arm to Penny, who is fascinated by the technology. Yang offered to shake Penny's hand with the prosthetic arm, a sneaky grin on her face. She happily takes her hand, only for the arm to detach, causing Penny to gasp in surprise. Yang and Nora laughed, and after a moment, Penny laughs too. Then, Yang swiftly moves up beside Blake, putting her arm around her and holding up her Scroll with the camera function on. Ruby watched as Yang took selfies with Blake, Nora talked with Penny and Jaune joked and laughed with Weiss and Ren.

Qrow saw Ruby sitting by herself in the bleachers of the stadium, it was scary sometimes how similar they could be, as Qrow remembered constantly going off on his own as a kid.

“Big day for you, huh, kiddo?” He asked, walking over to sit next to Ruby.

“It's… definitely a lot to take in.” She replied.

“Which part? The finally getting to Atlas part, getting your license part, or the not quite disclosing everything to Ironwood part? Or… all of the above?”

Ruby let out a soft laugh. “All of the above... I'm trying to do what I think is best, but I really can't tell if what's best is what's right, or if I'm no different from Oz.”

Qrow wasn’t good at comforting people, but he couldn’t stand to watch his niece bare all this weight on herself. “Ruby, Oz only trusted himself with the whole truth. You're trusting others, but you're making sure they prove themselves first. I think that's a pretty big difference.”

“I hope so.” Ruby said, withdrawing her Scroll and looking at her license.  
“This says I'm a Huntress now. But I don't feel like I know much more than I did at Beacon.”

Qrow laughed a little. “That feeling never goes away... Your mom, Summer, would be proud of you.”

Ruby smiled at him, but that smile soon faded as she thinks to herself. “Her… last mission. Was that another Oz secret?”

Qrow thought for a moment, the last few days with Summer, he wasn’t around much for it. And the day she left... he wasn’t there at all. He didn’t know what happened... until he confronted Raven. The one woman who could have found Summer easily. Qrow knew Raven cared deeply for her, loved her, so he hoped that she would lead him to Summer so she could be brought back home. The news he was given instead... was earth shattering.

“Hm. There were a lot of those back in our day. But this one was a Summer secret. When she didn't come back, Ozpin seemed just as in the dark as myself and your father. Still, who knows what he may have hidden from us over the years.”

Ruby looked down at her feet. “What do you think she would've done if she learned the truth about Salem? That she can't be destroyed.”

“Pressed on, I think. Like you. She was always the best of us.” He pulled Ruby over to rest her head against his shoulder, smiling.  
“Bit of a brat, though. But hey, I like brats.”

Ruby playfully elbowed him in the ribs and laughed. He chuckled with her.

“Hey, Ruby! Come check this out!” Yang called, pointing behind herself with her thumb. Ruby zoomed over to the group, who were staring at what appeared to be a mission board.

Qrow remained seated in the bleachers, watching as Ruby and her friends argued about what mission they wanted to take first. He was happy for them, all of them had really grown up into fine young Huntsman. It gave Qrow a sense of hope for the future.

Something he didn’t have for a long time.

As he sat, he felt as if he was being watched. Turning to his left and looking down the row of seats, he saw a familiar face.

Clover.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Jacques sat alone in his dimly lit office, drinking from a glass with a spherical ice cube in it, the bitter taste of whiskey not at all helping his mood. Faint knocking was heard and the door opened partway. His son, Whitely, peeked through.

“Father, you, um… have a visitor.” The boy muttered nervously. Jacques slammed his glass down on the arm of his chair, making the boy jump.

“I told you I didn't want to be disturbed. Why did you let them in?” He demanded.

Whitley fidgeted where he stood. “I didn't. He... let himself in.”

Watts grabbed the door and pulled it the rest of the way open, walking into the room as Whitley moved out of his way.

“A spitting image of you, this lad, Jacques. Creepily so, I might add.” He said, looking over at Whitley, who stood in the hall holding the door open, watching as Watts walked around Jacques' office.  
“He's definitely inherited your… affect.”

Jacques sat there shocked. “Arthur.”

He took a second to gather himself, then looks at Whitley, a commanding boom in his voice.

“Whitley, leave us. And shut the door.”

Whitley was confused by this stranger, he looked suspiciously at Watts.

“I said shut the door!” Jacques once again slammed his glass down. Whitley obeyed and closed the door. Jacques turned his attention back to Watts.  
“I— You're supposed to be dead.”

“That is what I wanted people to think. You're right. However, I've heard things about you too, Jacques. Namely, that you have an Ironwood problem.” Watts smirked while Jacques scowled.

“That bastard is costing me more money every day with this embargo. I'd lay off every employee in Mantle if I wasn't trying to get their damn votes for this Council seat.” He huffed.

Watts sat in the chair next to Jacques.

“What if I said you can have your cake… and eat it, too?”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Clover sat on the bench next to Qrow.

“You’re back earlier than I expected.” Qrow commented.

“I know. Lucky me, right?” Clover chuckled.

“Heh, yeah. So, how’s things in Mantle? You got any leads on who’s killing people down there?” Qrow asked. However for a split second, Clover seemed distracted, watching the group talk with the Ace-Ops, but he quickly snapped back to attention.

“Oh, right. No leads yet. I just went down to close off the scene of the crime to the public. Besides... investigation’s not really my role.”

“Riiiight. What is your “role” then?” 

Clover paused. “Following orders I guess.”

“Ah, I see. Ironwood’s little token boy, huh?” Qrow raised a brow.

Clover sputtered at the nickname. “Token Boy?”

“Yep. Or should I say “poster boy”? “Mascot” maybe? You can take your pick.”

“Woah, hey!” Clover tried to fake being offended, but he couldn’t help but laugh.  
“Where’s all this coming from? Someone’s lightened up. Is it cause of the General’s little party here?”

“Not really... it’s them.” He gestured down to the kids, all of them still chatting away excitedly with the Ace-Ops.  
“If they’re happy, then so am I.”

“Huh, that’s weird.” Clover said.

“Uhhh... How come?”

“You don’t seem like the parent type.”

“Wha— I’m not!” Qrow threw up his hands.  
“I’m no parent, alright? Trust me on that. I’m just...”

“The Fun Uncle?” Clover asked, quirking a brow at him.

Qrow wanted to protest, but he wasn’t exactly wrong. He sighed and dropped his head in defeat. “Yeah, yeah... I’m the Fun Uncle.”

“Hey, don’t sound so depressed about it.” Clover laughed.  
“I tell you what, I wish I was an Uncle.”

“... You’re not?” Qrow asked, looking back up at Clover.

“Nope.” He replied, shrugging his shoulders.  
“Why?... did you think I was?”

“Well, you seem pretty good with the kids. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were.” Qrow said.

A distant look entered Clover’s eyes, he grabbed his left arm with his right hand, brushing his thumb over the red fabric that covered his bicep. It seemed like he was being pulled away from the present. Qrow felt that he may have overstepped.

“No, I... I don’t have any family.” Clover said quietly.

“Oh...” Qrow muttered. God, someone smack him in the back of the head.  
“I shouldn’t have assumed... sorry bout that.”

“It’s okay.” Clover said, continuing to grip his arm.

“I guess this type of job leaves you pretty lonely, huh? You go home to an empty room and all that?”

“... yeah.” Clover then let his arm go, appearing pulled back to reality.

“Hm.” Qrow hummed, he wanted to lighten the mood and hopefully push past his moment of fumbling.  
“See, that’s why this life isn’t for me.”

Clover seemed to cheer up a bit. “How so?”

“Well, I couldn’t stand being a Special Operative of any kind. I mean, going home to soldiers barracks instead of somewhere with your family? Yeah, doesn’t seem fun.” Qrow said, the tension easing from his shoulders now that Clover seemed better.

“... I thought you worked alone.” Clover pointed out.

“I do. Well... I did. I would always go on missions for Ozpin. They would last for days, maybe even weeks or months at a time. But at the end of every one? I would come home to my nieces and their father; Tai.”

“That’s... nice.” Clover said.  
“You sound pretty lucky to me, having a family like them.”

“Well... it’s not all been sunshine and rainbows.” Qrow said.  
“Our family... it’s definitely struggled. But we’re pushing through.”

Clover patted Qrow’s back. “Keep moving forward.”

Qrow smiled.

“Yeah, keep moving forward.”

Clover then clapped his hands and stood up with a tired grunt. “Alright then, if we’re gonna keep moving forward then that means you and your kids getting used to Atlas’ schedule.”

“They’re not my kids—“

“You know what I mean. So!” Clover offered his hand and pulled Qrow up.  
“You better be ready for the beginning of next week, cause that’s when the real fun begins.”

He winked before heading down the stairs leading into the stadium. Qrow ignored the heat creeping up the back of his neck and followed without a word.

Completely unaware of how easily Clover’s smile disappeared and switched to a neutral expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw did any of yall notice I slipped some rosebird in there as well cause I can’t help myself 🥴


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that the group were in the flow of the Atlas lifestyle. Qrow and Clover take to having their first solo mission together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MOAR BONDING!!!!
> 
> Also college has started back up for me so chapter releases may be less frequent

Clover wasn’t kidding, the beginning of next week was indeed where Atlas’ schedule truly began. The group were woken up by a very enthusiastic Penny, they dragged themselves out of bed, got dressed and headed to the briefing room, where Clover stood in front of a board showing maps and lists of jobs. And, from what Qrow could see, a single column of that list was only for the first few days.

“Oh god.” He thought.

Clover was using his Scroll while everyone was making coffee and getting comfortable, Qrow decided to stand instead and took his place to the side. He noticed that Clover seemed to be sending messages, however, there didn’t appear to be a contact name. Just a number. Qrow brushed it off as it being just a private line he was using to contact Ironwood or maybe discuss the murders in Mantle.

Clover saw Qrow watching him, so he quickly shoved the Scroll into his pocket and began addressing the meeting.

“Eyes up, Huntsmen. Time to get used to the new normal in Atlas. Your top priority is Amity Tower. That means protecting supply runs from Grimm and bandits.”

Qrow found it hard to believe there was bandits running around the tundra.

“And protecting the site itself. Diverting all construction resources to Amity Tower means there are going to be gaps in Mantle’s defences against Grimm. They'll need help on the perimeter. But there's still plenty to do in Mantle itself. I think you'll find everyone appreciates having a Huntsman around.”

“I thought James said to keep things subtle in Mantle. Too many huntsman could potentially cause a panic, wouldn’t it?” Qrow thought.

“You're of course free to enjoy your time off as you see fit. Whatever helps you take the edge off. The Huntsmen around you can be an invaluable resource. If you're willing to pay attention. But make no mistake, school's over. You get to choose what type of Huntsman or Huntress you are. So, what's it gonna be?”

As the group spoke up with questions and volunteering for different missions, Qrow stayed back and admired Clover’s leadership. He made a good motivational speaker. He could see why Ironwood left it all to him, considering the General was quite awkward with his speeches.

“James must really trust him.” Qrow thought.

The group and the Ace-Ops all began to leave, Qrow and Clover where the last to go, deciding to walk together.

“Quite the speech, Poster Boy.” Qrow chuckled.

“Is that nickname really gonna stick now?” Clover groaned.

“Yep.” Qrow replied, popping the “p” as he strolled out the room.

“Alright... whatever cheers you up I guess.” Clover said, acting as if a great burden had been bared into his shoulders. They both laughed.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Sometime later, Ruby and Qrow are riding in the front of a truck that is being driven by an Atlesian Knight-200. Meanwhile, Clover and Weiss are sat in the back. Qrow had fallen asleep, which Ruby was annoyed by, so she elbowed him awake.

“Huh, what?” Qrow grumbled, waking up from his sleep and stretching, not at all almost batting his niece in the face.

“C’mon Uncle Qrow!” Ruby said, grabbing onto his arm and shaking it.  
“This is Atlas work! You can’t be falling asleep now!”

“Kid, I woke up at five in the morning, I think I can have a little power nap.”

“That wasn’t a nap! You were snoring.”

“No, I wasn’t!” Qrow wrapped his arm around Ruby’s shoulders and ruffled her hair.

“I’m afraid I’m gonna have to agree with your niece on this one, Qrow.” Clover said whilst peeking through the window of the cabin.  
“You snore pretty loudly.”

“Wha— Hey!” Qrow yelped, heat spreading across his face.  
“You too, Clover?”

Ruby laughed. “Qrow’s blushing!” 

In the back of the truck, Weiss could also be heard giggling. Qrow’s face heated up even more. “I am not!”

Clover grinned mischievously. “Well, it looks like—“

“Stop it, you.” Qrow huffed, pointing a finger at Clover.  
“This is betrayal.”

Some jokes and laughing later, they had made their way to the compound. Ruby and Weiss got out of the truck and headed towards the landing docks for the ships, waving back at Qrow and Clover as they went.

“Just clear the airspace! There’s gonna be Manticores, Beowolves and Sabyrs around so be careful and make sure the ships can make their way through with the transports, okay?” Clover called.

“Yes, Sir!” Ruby shouted back, waving with both hands at Qrow.

“Don’t go too crazy, y’hear me?” Qrow yelled, smiling warmly as Ruby gave him a thumbs up while Weiss tugged her along.

He knew they would be fine. He knew that, yet he couldn’t help but worry for them. The group had all been spread out, Ruby and Weiss were dealing with the airspace, Yang and Blake were with Marrow killing Grimm in the mines, Ren and Nora were protecting Mantle’s border, Jaune had been given the wonderful job of helping kids get to school, and Oscar was training with Ironwood. Something about “jogging Ozpin loose”. Meanwhile, the Ace-Ops were told to patrol Mantle’s streets and to give any updates directly to Clover.

“Any particular reason why mission updates go to you first instead of James?” Qrow asked.

Clover paused. “It’s... just to take off some of the pressure.”

“Huh, I thought your role was to follow orders?” Qrow smirked teasingly.

Clover didn’t return the sass. “I guess my work is more... complex.”

“Oh, right.” Qrow said. He supposed he could understand. Like he found out recently, the life of an Ace-Op seemed pretty lonely, to the point where one couldn’t go home to see his family. Taking orders from Ironwood while simultaneously sharing the burden of his work? Yeah, that seemed quite complicated.

The two of them walked away from the mines and towards a landscape surrounded by mountains. They were big enough to create a wall of ice and snow, separating whatever was inside from the rest of the tundra, but it wasn’t so big that it would take forever to get over.

“So... wanna tell me what we’re looking for?” Qrow asked, as they began to walk up the snowy banks.

“Did... did you listen to the briefing?” Clover said.

“I did!”

“Really?”

“... I heard enough.”

“Not enough to know what we’re doing.” 

“Hey!” Qrow grumbled.  
“I know that we’re out here to deal with Grimm. I just...”

“Didn’t actually listen to what type we’re dealing with.” Clover finished for him.

“... Yeah.” Qrow admitted begrudgingly.

Clover sighed. “Alright, I’ll break it down for you. We’re going to a lake.”

“A lake?” Qrow repeated.

“Yeah.”

“... In a tundra.”

“Believe it or not, but in warmer times of the year there’s actually several lakes around here. This one does freeze over, but not as much as the others, so that means Grimm can still break through the ice.” Clover explained.

“So... we’re dealing with fish Grimm?”

“... I suppose they’re fish, yeah.”

“And they got you to do it... the guy with the fishing rod?” Qrow snorted.

“Yes, alright. Very funny.” Clover said, unamused by how on the nose this assignment was.

Once they reached the peak of the hill, they began sliding down into the bowl of the mini mountain range. An icy lake sat in the middle, surrounded on all ends with snow.

“If these Grimm aren’t for land then they must come up from underground.” Qrow thought.

The lake was frozen over completely, the dark water could barely be seen through it, it was like a blurred mirror. The ice seemed thick enough to stand on, but neither of them were sure if they wanted to step forwards. They stood on the edge of the lake, looking down into the abyss.

“... I don’t see any Grimm.” Qrow said.

“They’re here. The reports we got from air patrol were just from last night.” Clover replied.

“Maybe they heard we were coming and turned tail?” Qrow asked sarcastically.

“We can’t just assume they’re gone.”

“Well, I’m not seeing anything.”

“If the ships could see it from the air then we’re bound to find something.” Clover said, leaning down to peer further.

“If the ships could see it from the air but we can’t see nothing standing in front of it now then they’re probably gone.” Qrow said, gesturing to the empty lake.

“That doesn’t mean we go.”

“You said these are fish Grimm. What does it matter if they’re here? It’s not like they can walk on land.” Qrow suggested.

“We don’t know for sure if they’re limited to water.” Clover said.

“So... they’re not fish Grimm?”

“I don’t know, Qrow!” Clover shouted, his voice echoing through the range.  
“That’s what we’re here to find out.”

“Alright, alright!” Qrow said, holding up his hands.  
“We’ll stay here. Don’t lose your cool.”

Clover appeared shocked by his outburst and turned away from Qrow.

“I’m... sorry.” He said, sighing as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers.  
“I don’t know why—“

“You’re stressed.” Qrow said.  
“And I don’t blame you. You’ve got a lot on your plate.”

“R-right.” Clover released a long breath.  
“Yeah, just... it’s a lot.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Qrow asked.

“I... no. No, I can’t.”

“You can’t... why?”

“It’s... complicated.” Clover said, leaving it at that.

A rumble was heard under the ice, catching both their attention, there was still nothing to be seen.

“... Alright I take it back, it’s here.” Qrow said, Clover breathed out a small chuckle.

The silence stretched on, only being interrupted by small, random intervals of distant rumbling. Neither of them could tell if it was getting closer or further away.

“There must be chambers all over the landscape allowing them to travel without breaching the surface.” Clover muttered, seeming oddly fascinated by the mysterious Grimm under their feet.

“Uh huh, yeah, speaking of breaching... is that gonna happen any time soon?” Qrow asked, looking into the murky water impatiently, they could both only last so long in the cold but they couldn’t leave this Grimm to roam freely. It needed to be dealt with now.

“It doesn’t know we’re here yet, so it’s probably gonna be a bit of a waiting game.” Clover replied, drawing his weapon and pacing the edge of the lake.

“Well, we can only wait so long until we freeze.” Qrow pointed out.

“Part of the job I’m afraid.” Clover shrugged.

“Right... but what if I did this?” Qrow pointed Harbinger at the ice.

BANG!

The shot echoed as the ice split violently, leaving a gaping wound into the frozen lake. Clover stared at the hole before slowly turning to look at Qrow. Before he could open his mouth, the rumbling returned, this time it was much louder. Through the cloudy water, a Grimm could be seen getting closer to the surface, it seemed to be the size of a truck. But there was just one thing...

That was just its head.

CRASH!

The Grimm rose its armoured head through the ice and a long, slender neck followed it, raising its height to that of a house. And that wasn’t even its full body. Qrow stood mortified at what he had summoned. The creature lunged forwards, and Qrow was shoved out the way by Clover. Both of them got up and took off, running around the edge of the lake as the ice split and shattered into platforms of icebergs.

“What the hell is that?!” Qrow shouted, firing at the creatures head, only for it to duck back into the water.

“It’s a Murchadh!” Clover screamed back, his voice could hardly be heard from the shrieking of the beast and the splintering of the ice.

“A what?”

“Not a fish, basically!” Clover ran out onto the splitting ice, extending his fishing pole and waiting for the Murchadh to rise up again. Qrow went to join him, but as he jumped across, he saw the head coming up directly below his feet. It broke through and launched him into the air, opening its mouth to swallow him whole. Panicking, Qrow shifted into his bird form to escape the Grimm’s toothy prison.

The line of Clover’s fishing rod wrapped around the Murchadh’s neck, he pulled back so it wouldn’t dive down again. Instead, it turned it’s attention to the Ace-Op and swam straight towards him, it’s spiny back poking through the surface of the water. Qrow flew down, transformed, and hit the edge of the iceberg Clover was standing on. The force of his landing sent Clover upwards, so he flipped and landed on its back, just barely missing being impaled by the spikes protruding it’s spine. He yanked away with his fishing pole so the creature was forced to throw its head upwards. Qrow used the opportunity to unsheathe Harbinger into its scythe form, and swung at its neck, leaving a gaping wound. Then, with one last tug, Clover ripped the head of the Grimm clean off, sending it flying into the water as its body then started to wisp away.

Qrow felt himself slipping towards the edge of the iceberg, until he felt a hand on his back pushing him forwards to keep his balance. He turned to look at a panting, rather alarmed looking, Clover.

“That... that could’ve ended horribly.” He huffed, stepping onto the ice with Qrow.

“Yeah, but we’re alive. Lucky us, huh?” Qrow grinned. Clover pressed his lips into a thin line to stop himself from smirking.

Both of them stood there on the iceberg gasping for air to recover from the sudden adrenaline rush that fight had given them. The silence stretched as they caught their breath, then, Clover shot up with a sudden realisation.

“Wait, you’re a bird?!”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

The next day, Qrow and Clover switched their assignments with the Ace-Ops, and were now walking through Mantle’s streets, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity. Overall, it was very quiet, it appeared whoever was conducting the murders had somehow gotten word of Atlas’ suspicion, so they had hidden away, leaving tension in the air. However, that also meant the assignment was extremely boring, Qrow could’ve sworn he had seen that same wall of graffiti about a million times by now with how much walking they had done.

Clover seemed to notice Qrow’s boredom, and decided to free him of it.

“Hey, you wanna grab a drink?”

Qrow stared blankly at him. “Clover, it’s... it’s ten in the morning.”

“What? Oh, no!” Clover shook his hands and chuckled at Qrow’s confusion.  
“I meant like... do you wanna go get some coffee?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah. That makes more sense.” Qrow said, blushing slightly red at his misunderstanding.

“Come on then, it’s on me.” Clover smiled.

The two of them headed inside the nearest cafe. Clover ordered a coffee with two spoonfuls of sugar, meanwhile Qrow ordered his just black, ignoring how Clover grinned at how basic his order was. Joking about how the order matched the owner. They both stepped outside and continued walking down the street. Qrow supposed it was good like this, their casualness probably eased the fear of the citizens, as seeing two Huntsmen calmly heading about their day rather than the usually very serious “it’s just a job” Ace-Ops made it seem like nothing was wrong. Even if it was really the complete opposite.

Turning the corner, a group of children suddenly ran past them, throwing snowballs at each other as they went. The kid at the back of the group, a young boy with messy brown hair, slipped on the icy pavement. Thankfully, Clover put out his arm to stop him from falling, and he didn’t even spill his coffee.

“Lucky bastard.” Qrow thought humorously.

“Woah! You alright there?” Clover asked as he pulled the boy to his feet.

“Yeah! Thank you, sir!” The kid gleamed before taking off once again, running to brag to his friends about just being saved by a Huntsman. Qrow watched Clover with a warm smile, he noticed it and returned a sheepish one, rubbing the back of his head as he chuckled.

“Kids, right?” He said.  
“Always clumsy.”

“Hey, we’re all like that as kids, practically tripping on air. Or we’re you just that fortunate when you were younger?” Qrow asked.

“Hmm, no I don’t think so.” Clover replied, looking up at the sky as he thought.  
“My good luck really started to show when I was... six or seven maybe?”

“I’m surprised you could tell. I had no idea my semblance was Misfortune for a real long time.” Qrow said, sighing as memories went through his head.  
“I just thought all the bad things happening we’re... just happening. I didn’t realise I was the cause.”

“I doubt you were always the cause.” Clover said reassuringly.  
“Believe it or not, sometimes bad things do just happen. Bad luck or good luck be damned. You shouldn’t blame yourself too much.”

“Right...” Qrow muttered, sipping his coffee.  
“So, how did you realise you had Good Luck?”

Clover wasn’t sure if he wanted to share his past, however he thought back to how Qrow spoke about his time with Ozpin back at Amity Colosseum and without any secrecy. Maybe he should return the gesture.

“Well... my dad would always go ice fishing, and as a kid I would go with him whenever I could. Of course, ice fishing doesn’t get a lot of results most of the time, so when my dad started having constant successes every time I went with him... we just assumed something was up.” Clover chuckled.

“Ice fishing, huh?” Qrow smirked at him, trying his best not to laugh.

“Alright, I know. Ha ha the guy with the fishing rod also went fishing as a kid, very funny.” Clover rolled his eyes.

“Hey, it’s a nice bonding experience. Real traditional stuff a kid does with his dad, right?” Qrow said.

“Yeah, it was good fun... what about you? What did you do with your parents?”

“Hm... well for starters; I never met my dad. He left just a few weeks after me and my sister were born.” Qrow explained.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Clover frowned.

“Oh please, don’t be. From what I heard, he was a real bastard. He used to mess with my mom’s head, isolated her from the rest of the tribe and then scarred her face before running away, never to be seen again. So yeah, good riddance really.”

“Oh, alright then.” Clover chuckled surprisedly.  
“What about your mom then?”

“My mom; Nyx Branwen. She was... the best. She taught us everything we needed to know; how to read and write, how to cook and fight for ourselves... she was a good woman. A great mother.”

“You say ‘was’...” Clover trailed off.

Qrow sighed before continuing. “After we were born, she developed an illness. It was weird cause her uncle, Jack Branwen, was a doctor from Mistral before he and his brother joined the tribe with my grandmother. And not even he could figure out why it was happening. The illness... it affected her breathing, made her cough up blood sometimes. And as the years went on... it only got worse. By the time we were fifteen...”

“Oh, Qrow...” Clover grimaced.  
“I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have—“

“Nah, it’s okay.” Qrow shrugged off.  
“Sure, it’s not the happiest childhood, but still... it’s nice to talk about it with someone. To remember the good parts.”

Clover smiled at him. “Well... if it’s any comfort, in a way I can relate to what you’ve been through. It’s not the same but... my mother also died when I was young. For a long time it was just me, my dad and my younger sister.”

“Huh, I guess we’re more similar then we thought.” Qrow patted Clover’s back before continuing down the path, finishing his coffee and throwing in into a nearby trash can.

“Yeah... I guess so.” Clover replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Grimm I made up for Clover and Qrow to fight could only be described as a Grimm Loch Ness Monster 😂
> 
> Also it’s name “Murchadh” is derived from the Gaelic muir “sea” and cadh “warrior” so it’s a “Sea Warrior”
> 
> Get it? Cause it’s in water? 👀 yeah you get it


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another mission. This time with the opportunity to meet the politics of Atlas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank god I don’t have class on Fridays 😂

Several days later, Qrow, Clover, Ruby and Penny are in a truck that’s driving along a straight, lengthy road in the middle of the tundra. Ruby and Penny are sitting in the front seat, while an AK-200 drives. Ruby stared ahead sleepily. It takes trucks roughly two hours or so to reach the compound, making for a rather boring drive, especially since you can’t ask a robot to turn on the radio.

When asked why the supplies for Amity couldn’t just be transported by airships, Penny made a very detailed explanation about how the components for Amity Tower's construction are far too heavy, so all that weight would require precious Dust that should be saved for the launch itself. And the Grimm that is bound to come after. Ruby tried her best not to nod off to sleep while Penny talked, but these long supply runs were taking all the energy out of the usually hyper girl. Luckily, her friend was there to spook her awake whenever she would drift off.

“Relationships are so interesting and varied!” Qrow heard Penny saying, enthusiasm and curiosity lacing her voice.

“Speaking of friends… Have you been able to make any new ones? Since, you know…?” Ruby trailed off. The horrors of Beacon were still difficult for her to bring up, even after two years.

“Now that I'm the official Protector of Mantle, I don't really have a team anymore. General Ironwood says I don't have time for friends.” Penny replied, still sounding happy despite the context.

Qrow felt bad, sure she was cybernetic, but she was still a girl. A very alive and vibrant one who deserved to socialise with people her age. 

“Or whatever age she was programmed to be.” Qrow thought.

“Oh, uh, how do you feel about that?” Ruby asked.

“I feel like I wish I could do both the things I need to do and the things I want to do. Is that normal?”

Qrow noticed how Clover payed attention to what Penny said. He supposed Clover could relate, being so busy and all.

Ruby chuckled. “That's about as normal as it gets, Penny.”

The truck shook slightly as it went over a bump in the road. Qrow spoke up from the back of the truck. “Everything going alright up there?”

“Just fine, Uncle Qrow!” Ruby gave a thumbs up in front of the window.

Qrow stuck his hand through to bump Ruby’s hand with his fist, then he turned back to his card game with Clover. The Ace-Op set several cards down on the supply crate they were using as a table.

“I win again.” He grinned.  
“Maybe we should call it quits?”

“Shut up and deal.” Qrow grumbled, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

Clover laughed, then gathered up the cards and slowly shuffled them. “Your niece sure is one of a kind, huh?”

Qrow hummed. “They all are. Been through a lot together.”

“It's a good thing they had someone to look up to and get them through it. Not everyone is so lucky.” Clover dealt the cards as he spoke.

“I don't know about all that.” Qrow shrugged, pausing as he watched Clover deal.  
“Thanks, by the way. For looking out for 'em. You and your team.”

“What good is saving the world without another generation waiting in the wings?” Clover placed the pile of cards in the middle and slid Qrow’s cards towards him.  
“Hopefully they'll leave Remnant better than we left it for them.”

Qrow grabbed the cards and chuckled. “Once upon a time, I'd have drank to that.”

Clover’s brows furrowed. “You shouldn't do that, you know.”

“Don't worry, I-I gave that up.” Qrow reassured, picking a card from his hand.

“I meant deflect a compliment.” 

That got Qrow’s attention.

“Those kids wouldn't be where they are without you. You've had more of an effect on them than you realize.” Clover smiled at him warmly.

Qrow smiled back and rubbed the side of his head bashfully.

Bashful. This guy was making him bashful.

“Uh, Uncle Qrow.” Ruby called.

Qrow and Clover got up and headed to the front of the now slowing truck.

“What's going on? Grimm?” Qrow asked.

Clover’s fist clenched. “No. Worse. You two with me. Penny, stay put and keep an eye on our six. We may need an element of surprise.”

Penny nodded. “Affirmative. I will plan for six possible outcomes.”

The three looked at Penny, who smiled confidently.

The truck came to a stop, and Clover, Ruby and Qrow exited. They saw two women, a human and a sheep Faunus, standing in front of the gate that lead to the compound.

Clover plastered on a friendly smile. “Robyn! Well, if it isn't Mantle's home town hero. Is there a reason you're blocking an official military transport?”

“Clover, I'm so glad you're here.” Robyn smiled back.  
“Maybe you can help me understand why this truck that's supposed to be taking construction materials to fix Mantle's outer wall, is on its way to the middle of nowhere? Are you lost?”

Clover laughed. “It's pretty easy to get turned around out here in the tundra, everything looks the same. Thanks for checking up on us though. We'll be on our way now.”

Clover started to walk away, but heard Robyn sigh.

“I was hoping you'd play it straight with me. What's Ironwood doing with Amity at the old SDC mine?” She asked.

Clover stopped. From what Qrow could tell, he actually looked irritated. He turned back to Robyn, switching back to a grin.

“Oh, that. Just giving her an annual checkup.”

Robyn wasn’t buying it. “The next Vytal Festival isn't anytime soon. Only automated drones and a few select Atlas scientists are allowed out here. And Amity's getting invaluable resources we need in Mantle to protect against Grimm. Seems like more than just a check-up.”

Clover’s eyes narrowed. “You've been scoping it out.”

“We can't fix the wall without the supplies on these trucks. I think Mantle deserves to know what they're being used for. It doesn't have to be difficult. Just tell me.” Robyn stepped forwards and extended her hand with a smile.

Clover’s face turned neutral. “I'm going to have to pass on that.”

Robyn frowned, then smiled again as she turned her attention to Ruby and Qrow. “How 'bout you, pipsqueak? Five o' clock shadow? Either of you want to tell me why Mantle's being put at risk for Ironwood's pet project?”

Qrow felt hesitant to speak, Ruby on the other hand, was quite the opposite.

“We're trying to help Mantle. We need—“

“That's enough Robyn.” Clover jumped in.  
“As a potential Councilwoman, you should probably focus on the election instead of harassing Huntsmen. Now, it's time to let us pass.”

Robyn’s voice became more serious. “I think you've misjudged the situation. One way or another, these supplies are going to get where they're supposed to go - Mantle.”

“Then I suggest you do that through the proper legal channels as a Councilwoman. If you get elected.” Clover replied.

Robyn smirked. “Now where's the fun in that?”

Clover is tense, Qrow sees it and puts his hand on his weapon, Ruby is quick to do the same. Suddenly, Penny flew out from the back of the truck and landed on top of it, her swords levitating around her.

“Robyn Hill. I would like to politely ask that you call off the Huntresses approaching the rear of the truck.” She said.

Clover, Qrow and Ruby all looked back at what appeared to be absolutely nothing behind the truck.

Robyn’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, then she laughed. “Alright. Joanna, May!”

Two people faded into view behind the truck.

“That kid is a blessing.” Qrow thought.

Robyn looked up at Penny. “The Protector of Mantle, huh?”

“Let us through, please.” Penny requested.

Everyone remained tense for a moment, ready for a fight. Robyn sighed, raised up her hand, and the still unknown sheep Faunus opened the gate to let them through. Penny came down from the truck, and she, Ruby, Qrow and Clover started walking back to enter the truck. Clover stopped and looked back.

“Robyn. Good luck at the election.” He said coldly.

They entered the truck and drove through the canyon.

“That was a close one.” Qrow said.

“You're telling me.” Clover sighed.

“I didn’t know Robyn was trying for the council.” Qrow commented.

“She’s the advocate for Mantle.” Clover said.  
“So she’s definitely not gonna be happy about this embargo. Which is why she doesn’t need to know.”

Qrow paused before speaking up. “She’s got a point though.”

“What?” Clover questioned.

“Mantle is in desperate need of repairs, and James... he’s taking that.”

“For the sake of global communications.” Clover argued.

“I know. But still... doesn’t it bother you? The people he’s hurting?”

A distant look entered Clover’s eyes. It was like the one he had when they were talking in the colosseum, it’s almost as if he’s somewhere else, reliving something from his memories that Qrow ever doubts he’ll know about.

“It does...” Clover admitted.  
“... But it’s not my place to say. Like you said, I follow orders.”

Qrow sighed. “Well... I hope Robyn is able to help Mantle recover from this embargo.”

“Yeah.” Clover said, pulling out his Scroll and turning it to the news.  
“But she’ll have to go against this.”

The screen lit up with a live press conference of Jacques. In the video, he’s standing in front of a podium and Schnee manor can be seen in the background. Qrow quickly reads the news ticker at the bottom of the screen showing multiple reports such as "Missing Journalist Found Slain In Her Midtown Apartment", "Perimeter Wall Damaged Last Month - Resources and Funding Are Stalled", "Surface Level Grimm Attacks Increasing - Mantle Protection Agency Advises Staying Indoors"

“Things really are hell there.” Qrow thought. Then, he turned his focus to what Jacques was actually saying, despite every fibre in his being despising just the sheer sound of his voice.

“If I'm elected Councilman, I've made it no secret I will be opposing General Ironwood and his senseless embargo that is crippling all of Atlas. It is my belief that these measures are not only reckless, but criminal. With no shipments allowed to enter or leave the kingdom, I know many are suffering. And my family has been weathering the same storm as many of you.”

“Bullshit.” Qrow muttered.

“Effective immediately, I am forced to shut down all nonessential SDC operations. If elected to office, I will make the changes necessary to fix what Ironwood has broken. I hope you ask yourself before the vote, can you trust anyone else to stop Ironwood? Will Robyn Hill be able to get your jobs back?”

“The damn press will be eating this shit up.” Qrow said.

Low and behold, in the video News anchors are eagerly holding their microphones up to Jacques, talking over each other and asking endless, mind-numbing questions. He put his hand up and turned away, the broadcast ended. 

“That bastard just provided the spark that's going to set this kingdom on fire.” Qrow growled.

Clover could do nothing but nod in agreement, anxiously rubbing his left bicep and fiddling with the red fabric. The strange nervous tic seeming to reappear.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The election has begun. How will the results affect Atlas?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is now being slowed WAY down cause of college which is a shame but hopefully I won’t be gone too long with each update ❤️

Qrow was right. The closing of SDC stores in Mantle caused riots that lasted all throughout the night. Cars were tipped, piles of trash were lit on fire in the streets and Atlas Military stood scared witnessing Atlesian Knights be torn apart and beaten in the mob’s rage.

The morning after Jacques closed the Schnee Dust Company’s nonessential facilities, the Mantle rioters were sitting on sidewalks or in police airships with their wrists bound by bolases. Soldiers escorted previously arrested citizens back to their homes while Atlesian Knights patrolled the area. People that weren’t part of the chaos stood in line outside a polling station, deciding whether they would vote for Robyn Hill, Jacques Schnee, Ivy Brown, or Pearl Wistier. With the election drawing ever closer, there were campaign posters on every wall for all the candidates, Robyn and Jacques’ being the most prominent. However, Jacques' posters were often spray-painted over, a real Mantle welcome for the businessman from the people.

In a building somewhere in town, a reporter from the Mantle Daily is interviewing Robyn. “Although rioting in Mantle is finally under control, how does it feel to know that the majority of those involved were your supporters?”

“I don't condone rioting, especially when our city is being denied aid for the hardships we've already had to go through, but Jacques Schnee's latest stunt is holding the city hostage for his own political gain.” Robyn spoke calmly and professionally, simply speaking the truth instead of showing malice towards Jacques like he did when speaking of Ironwood and herself.  
“So, I understand their anger, but ask that they show it not in the streets but at the polls today.”

“She’s got my vote.” Qrow thought as he watched the interview on the screen in the briefing room. He sat in the room with all the Ace-Ops except for Marrow, who had been assigned to watch over Robyn’s election party.

The day was overall calm so far, the kids had been in the training rooms before Ironwood and Clover came in to tell them that they had the day off, in fact, they apparently ordered it. Qrow took the time to relax as well, but he kept a close eye on the news reports speaking of the election.

“We still have hours ahead of us, but as votes come in, it looks more and more certain that Robyn Hill will fill the open council seat.” In the background of the news report, Qrow could see a truck driving down the street, honking its horn to grab the cameras attention. It had people standing in the bed of the truck holding signs, which say "HILL IS HERE" and "HILL 4 COUNCIL".

Qrow pulled his Scroll from his pocket to check the live election results. Jacques had 33% of the vote, and Robyn had 67%. Earlier in the morning, it was a thirty to sixty ratio. Robyn still had the majority by a landslide, but the results were still fluctuating. Qrow hoped Robyn would keep the majority long enough so she could then be officially elected the winner by the end of the vote, which stopped later in the evening. He heard that Ruby, Ren and Nora were heading down to the rally in Mantle to see Robyn’s speech, Penny was also going to be there working as security alongside Marrow. In all honesty, Qrow was sure Ruby was just going there for the sake of meeting her busy friend.

The hours went by, and the votes indeed fluctuated, going from 33% and 67% to 45% and 55% by the time evening strolled around. Even then, the results continued to change. By now, Qrow and the Ace-Ops were watching Robyn’s speech being broadcasted live.

“I've never been much for public speaking, probably wasn't my best idea ever to go into politics.”

“She certainly loves to talk for someone “never being much for public speaking”, huh?” Harriet joked, making Elm and Qrow laugh while Vine nodded in agreement. Clover however, payed close attention to every word Robyn said.

“Thank you so much, everyone, for choosing me. You said you believe in me. But I'm the one who believes in all of you. You've proven to me that as individuals, we are strong. But together, we're unstoppable. So no matter what happens tonight, win or lose, we will continue to fight for our city, because it is this city that brings us together.” Robyn holds up her fist and the crowd could be heard cheering through the screen. Robyn walked off stage, smiling and waving to the crowd.

“I hope she plans to do all this fighting for Mantle legally.” Elm said, causing the Harriet and Qrow to chuckle once again.

“Well, we haven’t found anything to convict her with so far. So I assume she’s doing everything within the law.” Vine replied unnecessarily.

Qrow rolled his eyes at the eldest Ace-Op’s seriousness. Then, he peeked a glance at the surprisingly quiet Clover, noticing how he held his Scroll in hand and watched the screen intently.

“You a man of politics, Clover?” Qrow asked.

“Huh?” Clover muttered, leaning over towards Qrow’s voice but never taking his eyes off the screen.

“You making notes or something?” Qrow pointed at Clover’s Scroll. Finally noting his intense demeanour, Clover put the Scroll in his pocket and brushed it off with a laugh, at last tearing his eyes away from the TV.

“Uh, just... paying close attention I guess.” He said.

“Oh, ‘close attention’? You were on another planet there, boss.” Harriet said, getting up from her seat to stand behind Clover and wave her hand in front of his face.

“R-right.” Clover said. They all turned their attention back to the report.

“We're in the final minutes now, and it's looking to be a closer race than anticipated.” The news reporter said, pointing at the election results, now reading at 46% for Jacques and 54% for Robyn.

With everyone else focused, Clover pulled his Scroll back out and read the recently sent message.

“Election ending soon. Hope you’re watching.”

The results altered again, showing Jacques with 47% and Robyn with 53%. Clover grimaced at the constant changing results, secretly knowing how pointless it would all be.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Somewhere down in Mantle, in a secluded room filled with Schnee Dust Company crates, Arthur Watts is watching the live drone footage of the party on a screen projected from his Scroll. Next to the live drone feed is a recorded video of Penny fighting Sabyrs in the streets of Mantle, footage he was very... lucky to acquire recently. In windows behind the live and recorded footage, there is a Mantle election map and the live election results screen with the numbers erased. Watts tapped the screens of an array of Scrolls laid out in front of him, and the screens lit up. He adjusted one of his rings, and all eight of them lit up too. He struck a pose with his hands held up in the air.

“You ready, Tyrian?” He asked.

Whilst the doctor is behind the scenes, Tyrian is stood amongst the crowd at Robyn's party, the hood of his jacket obscuring his face so he isn’t recognised by any familiar Huntsman. He watched Robyn walk past on the stage.

Watts hears chuckling in his earpiece.

“Always.”

Robyn stands looking up at the results. “The polls are about to close. Twelve, eleven…”

Penny looks over at Robyn, while the crowd carried on the countdown. Ruby noticed a prosthetic tail slither out from the crowd as someone began walking away.

“Ten, nine, eight...”

Ruby moved, leaning into the crowd to look for the owner of the robotic scorpion tail, her eyes widening in panic at who she recognises. Tyrian chuckled maniacally and looked at Ruby.

“Seven, six, five, four, three—“

Ruby gasped and reached out toward the stage.

“Watch out!”

All power in the building shut off. The crowd murmured in confusion. May and Joanna are leaning against the wall opposite from the stage, looking up at the lights. Ren and Nora are holding onto one other, looking around with confusion and worry. Qrow and the Ace-Ops stared at the screen in confusion. Clover squeezed his eyes shut, looking away.

“Go.” Watts swiped his hand across the Scrolls, lighting up their screens. 

Robyn dropped the microphone onto the stage, and there is a faint sound of blood spatter, followed by a woman screaming. Panic broke out, and during it someone elbowed Ruby, knocking her down to the floor and causing her to hit her head against the side of the stage. Tyrian began swiftly moving through the crowd, kicking people's legs from under them and slashing them with his blades. He stabbed one person in the torso with his tail, lifting them high into the air, before throwing them down and continuing his rampage, running and spinning through the air like he was dancing.

“Penny, what's going on over there?” Marrow asked over the communicator.

Penny activated her night vision and looked over at Ruby, who is sitting with her back against the stage, trying not to be trampled. Penny turned and looked at the main area of the building, to see Tyrian slashing more civilians with his weapon and then impaling yet another with his stinger. He dropped the civilian and straightened up, licking his lips while releasing a sigh of euphoria. Penny drew her Floating Array and pointed the blades at Tyrian.

“Put down your weapon and surrender!” She shouted, forcing her voice not to tremble.

Tyrian looked at her and then vanished into the crowd as civilians ran between them. Penny looked around for him desperately.

Meanwhile, Watts continued waving his hands around, while his screen showed recorded videos of Penny fighting Sabyrs, live footage of Tyrian attacking the party goers, and 3D models of Tyrian and Penny. As he moved his hands, the Tyrian model and the real Tyrian in the live footage each gained a cyan outline. Shortly after, the Penny model and the real Penny in the recorded video gained this outline as well.

Marrow yelled into his communicator. “This is Ace Operative Marrow, requesting immediate assistance!”

Elm, Harriet and Vine all left the briefing room, already prepared to head down to Mantle. Clover remained in his seat, watching as Qrow stood in shock looking at the screen. The horrific event was hardly visible due to the power outage, but the screams of victims were easily heard.

“My niece... Ruby she... she’s down there!” Qrow sprung to life and charged out of the room, Clover quickly followed.

Watts gestured to a Scroll that is showing Mantle's election map, causing the colors to change in Jacques' favor. He swiped his hand across other Scrolls, causing their screens to light up.

Robyn and Fiona stood back to back on the stage, weapons drawn.

“Huntresses, to me!” Robyn shouted.

Fiona looked back at Robyn, unaware that Tyrian had crept up the stairs and began stalking towards them on the stage.

“Come on, we've gotta get you outta here!” Fiona said.

“Fi, honey.” Robyn wanted to protest.

Fiona heard running, her ears flicked slightly and she turned to look just in time to see Tyrian barrelling towards her wildly. His right arm began glowing purple with Aura, and his eyes glowed the same. He dragged his fingers across her stomach and side, causing her Aura to dissipate from that area, as if he ripped it open. Immediately afterward, he swung his left arm, cutting Fiona with his weapon. 

Fiona cried out in pain and dropped to her knees, while Tyrian leaped over her and Robyn, who was looking around frantically after hearing her partner’s scream. Also hearing Fiona's cry, Penny turned to the stage.

“Robyn!” She activated her jets and flew towards the stage. 

Tyrian rose up behind Robyn, giggling to himself and preparing for another strike. Penny then tackled Robyn out of the way. With the target now protected, Tyrian leapt up into the air, hiding away in the rafters. Robyn gasped and turned over onto her back, aiming her weapon at whatever just grabbed her. Penny slowly levitated her swords around her and scanned the area for Tyrian. On the beam above the stage, Tyrian watched her.

“Right on time.” He smirked, leaping away, never to be caught.

The power came back on, momentarily blinding Robyn. Once her eyes adjusted, she saw Penny standing in front of her with swords drawn. Penny looked around, upset and confused. Behind her, the giant screen displayed a photograph of Jacques, with the word "VICTORY!" below it.

“And the winner of the Atlas Council election is… Jacques Schnee!” The Newscaster announced.

Penny stared out at the bloodied civilians laying on the floor. The rest of the crowd is standing far back from the massacre, crying and yelling hysterically. Ruby looked around at the scene in horror, while Marrow gawked at the bodies in shock. One of the citizens, who is putting pressure on a fallen civilian's wound, pointed at Penny.

“It's Ironwood's robot!”

Robyn lay on the stage looking up at her, feeling her blood run cold.

“Penny.” She muttered.

Penny turned to see Robyn staring at her in horror and distrust. Penny folded her swords and put them away.

“I... I didn't.” She recoiled, pressing her hands up to her chest, as if wishing to just sink away and disappear.

The screen displayed live footage of Jacques standing at a podium in front of the Schnee manor. “Oho, thank you, everyone, thank you. It's all because of you. It's a new day in Atlas.”

Ruby climbed onto the stage, ran over to Fiona and put pressure on her wound, Robyn watching her as she did so.

Jacques continued celebrating. “We've won, we did it!”

Robyn glared daggers at Penny and growled angrily. Ren and Nora ran over to join Ruby and Penny on the stage.

“What happened?” Nora asked frantically.

“It was Tyrian! Tyrian's here!” Ruby replied.

Ren drews his guns and deployed their blades, Marrow also climbed onto the stage. May, Joanna and the rest of the crowd charged towards them. 

Marrow pointed at them, shouting a fierce command.

“Stay!”

The crowd slowed to a stop.

“Get Penny out the back, now!” Marrow ordered.

Nora encouraged Penny to go backstage with her while Ren followed them. Robyn kept her weapon aimed at them the whole time, then folded the crossbow away once they were gone. She got up and rushed over to Fiona, shoving Ruby away to apply pressure to the wound herself.

“I-I'm okay, I'm okay.” Fiona assured, placing her hand on top of Robyn’s.

Marrow stopped holding his pose to approach Robyn and Fiona. “I-I'm sorry. Is she—“

A crossbow bolt just barely missed his hand, he turned to see Joanna glaring with her weapon aimed at him. Ruby ran over and began tugging on his arm to get him to follow them backstage. He continued reaching out to Robyn.

“This wasn't us, I swear.” He and Ruby ran backstage. Robyn glared at them as they leave.

Watts watched the video on his screen with a smile, proud of his work. The video depicted Penny standing among the party-goers, swinging her swords at them.

“Fine work, Tyrian. I think we are all done for tonight.” He tapped the large "UPLOAD" button, and then the screen faded away. He picked up his bag, his personal Scroll and turned away, tossing the Scroll into the air, it collapsed and he caught it, smirking.

Throughout Mantle, civilians ran through the streets, screaming in panic. A News report then came on. “A surprise victory by SDC Mining Corporation's CEO, Jacques Schnee. Last-minute voter turnout produced a dark horse victory for the Dust industry leader.”

Ruby, Nora, Ren, Marrow and Penny are stood in an alleyway. Penny is standing apart from the group, Ren still has his weapons drawn and Marrow has his hand brought up to his face. Ruby turned to look at Penny, who is staring into the distance, her eyes glimmering from the shock and despair. Ruby reached her bloodied hand out to Penny, but then stops, noticing how the black fabric is now stained with a deep, violent red. 

Marrow pulled his hand away. “Penny, you need to get to Atlas. Backup's on the way.”

Penny doesn’t answer.

“Penny?”

Penny turned a little, as if to look back at him, but then flew away into the sky and disappeared behind a building. In the distance, Grimm roared and more sounds of people screaming are heard.

“Grimm.” Ruby muttered.

Marrow sighed and drew his weapon. “We've got a long night ahead.”

They ran out of the alley to face the Manticores that have began invading Mantle. The giant screens in the city broadcasted a live feed of Jacques' acceptance speech, while Mantle's security sirens began blaring and the street lights turned red.

“And as the newest member of the Council, I pledge to serve each and every citizen of Mantle and Atlas.”

Qrow stood panicked at the cabin door of the ship he and the Ace-Ops were taking down to Mantle, repeating the same sentence in his head like a mantra.

“Please be okay.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

The day after the Grimm attack and results of the election, Penny had been recovered and now sat alone on an examination table in Pietro’s Atlas Laboratory. She had been silent ever since being found, simply staring at her reflection in a nearby glass wall.

Down in Mantle, there are giant screens atop buildings playing a repeated message from Ironwood. “Citizens of Mantle - Following the most recent Grimm attack, a temporary prohibition of assembly is in place. There are to be no public gatherings of any kind. Please conduct your business and return to your homes before curfew. This is for your own safety.”

Some buildings in the city have soldiers stationed atop their roofs, watching over the people to make sure they followed the new rules the General had laid out. Mantras patrolled the skies and camera drones flew through the streets, making anyone outside feel like they had to hide in alleyways in order to move around town.

Metal bars covered nearby TV screens, which are playing a news broadcast that shows the footage of the attack at Robyn’s party. All of it secretly edited by Watts, and no one was the wiser to know it was him.

“All that work and no time to brag.” Watts thought.

The Newscasters voice rang through the empty streets. “Though military officials have gone on record to say the footage was doctored, many citizens are still insisting that the Protector of Mantle be deactivated.”

Everything was now going wrong, and Robyn wasn’t happy about it. She had taken to stealing Atlas’ armored trucks that drove through Mantle on its way to the compound, preventing the supplies from reaching the mines and prohibiting Ironwood’s embargo. Sometime later, Ironwood is in his office, reviewing footage of his trucks becoming invisible, before disappearing without a trace.

“This is the worst case scenario.” He said, angrily slamming his fist on his desk.  
“More people are dead, Penny's been framed, and somehow, Jacques Schnee is sitting on the council.”

Ren, Nora, Ruby, Qrow, Winter and Clover are present in Ironwood's office.

“That's the second shipment for Amity that was hit today. It seems election night was the last push Robyn needed to go from hometown hero to full-on vigilante.” Clover said.

“I'm afraid the problem is more complicated than that.” Winter replied.

“What do you mean?” Qrow asked.

Ironwood sighed and began pacing behind his desk. “It seems Robyn has emboldened our suppliers in Mantle. They're refusing to sell us provisions until the city is adequately repaired. With Robyn redistributing the goods her team has stolen, the Amity Project is completely stalled.”

Ruby then spoke up. “But we're so close. There has to be some way we can finish the tower.”

“There is...” Winter said, her brow furrowing.  
“Declaring martial law.”

The room goes silent, Ruby and Nora's eyes widened and they looked over at Ironwood, who is staring out the window.

“You're not actually considering that, are you?” Nora asked nervously, uncertain if she actually wanted an answer.

“What's more important? Establishing communications, unite the world? Or appeasing a few city blocks?” Ironwood said coldly.

“James.” Qrow warned.  
“Mantle is already losing a lot from this embargo. Doing this... you’ll be taking more than they can give.”

Nora got emotional. “Don't make it sound trivial when you know it isn't. You keep talking about how we just need a little more time, but you're not the one having to struggle.”

Ironwood turned around to face her. “We have all had to make sacrifices for the greater good. Mantle has had to bear a lot of the burden, yes, but—“

“They’re bearing all of it!” Nora interrupted, approaching his desk.  
“The longer this waiting game goes on, the harder each day gets for people down there and now you wanna send in more soldiers? You can't just force people to fall in line. If you do that, you'll just be trading all of these problems for the Grimm!”

Ironwood stepped forwards and stared at her, eyes narrowed, while Nora stared back, fists clenched tightly with a justified rage. He gave in, lowering himself into his chair and resting his face in his hands. Ruby stepped forward to stand next to Nora, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder whilst speaking.

“Please, General Ironwood. Squeezing Mantle this way… That kind of division plays right into Salem’s hands. That's why Tyrian is here framing you.”

“Right, the reason we called you here in the first place. You're sure this was the man you saw?” Clover asked, stepping towards Ruby and bringing out his Scroll to display a file about Tyrian. The file contained a photograph of Tyrian's face, as well as an image of Tyrian from undercover footage. Portions of the file's text appear to be classified.

Reading the report, Ruby, Qrow and Nora felt sick to their stomachs. Ren stayed back, deciding not to look at Tyrian’s horrific record.

“Tyrian Callows was accused of murders all across Anima. A homicidal maniac who escaped justice when his prison transport was attacked by Grimm. After that, he was never seen again.” Winter explained.

“Well, he works for Salem and he's here.” Ruby said.

“If we ever had any doubts Atlas was Salem's next target, I think those are officially out the window.” Qrow sighed.

“But now we have a suspect. We can tell the people.” Ruby tried to reason.

“That a long-lost serial killer is loose in Mantle and the military has no idea where he is - might make things worse before they get better.” Clover replied, adamant to keep this information hidden.

“I am so sick of secrets!” Nora shouted.  
“If we just told everyone about Amity, about Salem—“

“We can't!”

Everyone turned to look at Ironwood, he continued in a quieter tone.

“If we talk about Amity now, we risk Salem's forces, who we know are here, working to sabotage it. If we tell them about Salem now, we risk falling to the Grimm before we can reunite Remnant.” Ironwood stood up, slamming his hands down onto his desk.  
“We have to finish the tower. I want Robyn Hill in custody.”

Ruby and Nora looked surprised. Qrow spared at glance at Clover, who didn’t appear happy with any of this.

“We can offer her a deal if she gets Mantle to cooperate.” Ironwood said.

“We'll figure it out.” Clover assured.

“Anyone not assisting with Robyn needs to focus on Tyrian.” Ironwood began heading for the door, hands clasped behind his back.  
“I want to know who he's working with, where he's hiding, what he's planning, and how exactly that video of Penny got all over my kingdom.”

Clover’s nervous tic returned, fiddling with the fabric on his arm while the General’s back was turned, no one else seemed to notice. Ironwood stopped in front of the door and turned to look at everyone.

“Do I make myself clear?” He asked sternly, though it felt more like a demand than a question.

Clover and Winter nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ruby and Nora looked back and gave Ren a surprised look, meanwhile he payed no attention to them staring calmly ahead.

Ironwood left, and eventually so did everyone else. However, Qrow stopped Clover by grabbing his arm before he walked out the door.

“You’re not really okay with this... are you?”

Clover didn’t reply, but his face was enough to show how upset he was. He pulled away, and Qrow let him go.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

In the early evening, an armored truck drove along a road, with Yang and Blake inside. They had been assigned down in Mantle to prevent more thefts from Robyn. Clover is on a video call with Yang.

“Thanks for the assist on this, you two. Now, we may all be split between different trucks, but we need to be ready to act as one in case Robyn's team takes the bait. If your truck is hit, pursue immediately. Everyone else will move in as fast as possible. Going radio silent. Over.” The call ended.

The group, aside from Ruby and Weiss who stayed up in Atlas with Pietro, Maria and Penny, were all preparing for Robyn’s arrest. None of them were happy to do it, but they knew it was what Ironwood demanded.

Qrow is sitting in a truck with Clover, watching the news broadcast while it once again showed Watts' edited video depicting Penny slaying Robyn's party guests. The headline said "4 Additional Attendees Confirmed Dead", and the ticker at the bottom read "Witness Describes Warehouse Massacre: "Horrific; Nobody Deserved This"" and "Atlas Authorities Urge Citizens to Remain Calm as Investigation".

Qrow felt sorry for the young girl. Ever since this event, Penny had been staying up in Atlas and never left Pietro’s lab, she was scared of what the people had made her out to be. All she wanted was to protect Mantle, and now that had been stripped away from her by the bastards working for Salem.

Qrow remembered asking Pietro about Penny’s creation, who explained how the General challenged him and his team to find the next breakthrough in defense technology. He said how most of his colleagues pursued more obvious choices, while he was the one of the few who believed in looking inward for inspiration. Pietro wanted a protector with a soul. And when Ironwood saw her, he did too. Much to Pietro’s surprise, the Penny Project was chosen over all the other proposals. Then, after many years of trial and error later, the rest was history, and Penny was born. However, it didn’t come without a price; Penny’s aura wasn’t artificial, but instead Pietro’s own. Meaning each time she’s rebuilt, it takes a little more from the old man. So if the people of Mantle wished for Penny’s destruction, it would be taking away much more than Pietro’s work.

“This is wrong.” Qrow said.

Clover scoffed lightly. “Which part?”

“All of it!” Qrow threw up his hands in frustration.  
“What’s happening to Penny, James pushing for martial law, going after Robyn like this... it’s not right.”

Clover sighed, before kneeling down in front of where Qrow sat. “Look. I don’t really agree with what James is doing, but we have to follow his orders. Opposing him could potentially make him spiral, and I don’t think any of us want that.”

“I know.” Qrow replied, then he chuckled.  
“Gotta be honest, I never thought I’d hear you say you disagree with James.”

“Just because I do what he says doesn’t mean I don’t have my own opinions.” Clover smiled, glad to see Qrow lighten up a bit.

Qrow thought for a moment before deciding to push. “What do you think should be done?”

Clover raised his brow in surprise. “Oh, Qrow I don’t think that’s my place to say—“

“It is now.” Qrow cut in, grabbing Clover’s shoulder and pulling him down to sit next to him.  
“C’mon Poster Boy, it’s just us. And I’m no snitch.”

Clover opened his mouth to protest, but sighed instead, deciding to voice his thoughts.

“Well... I don’t think James should be keeping this stuff from the council.”

“Understandable.” Qrow interrupted, Clover glared at him before continuing.

“That Nora girl is right. Mantle is bearing all of this pressure while James isn’t suffering in the slightest. It’s unfair. And I hate to say it... but it’s always been that way.”

“That’s what being General of the military, Headmaster of Atlas Academy and a member of the council does to you.” Qrow replied.  
“He’s just oozing with privilege.”

That made Clover laugh, and Qrow was proud of himself for being able to make it happen.

A beep was heard from Clover’s Scroll, he pulled it out and brought up the screen showing a map of Mantle’s streets, a small blue dot was shown and it wasn’t moving.

“Yang and Blake’s truck.” He said, Qrow pulled out his own Scroll to check his nieces aura level, it had gone down slightly. The stopping of their truck had alerted the Ace-Ops and the rest of the group on patrol and they all turned to head to the stationary truck.

“Yang, Blake, where are you?” Harriet said over the channel, no reply.

Anxiety grew in Qrow’s stomach. Clover caught on and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, they’ll be okay.”

Qrow could only hope so as they drove to their location.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Down in the Atlas Vault, Oscar and Ironwood stare at the gate that contained the Relic of Creation.

“It's right behind that door.” Ironwood said.

“The Staff of Creation.” Oscar muttered, a strange feeling of nostalgia hitting him that he didn’t recognise.

“I hoped bringing you down here might jog some memories. After all, it was your idea to use the Staff to lift Atlas off the ground.” Ironwood slowly walked towards the Vault.

“I thought Gravity Dust kept Atlas afloat?” Oscar asked confusedly.

“Eh, that's the public story.” Ironwood shrugged.  
“But with the Staff, we have a constant, seemingly limitless energy source. Oz once speculated it could take us as high as we wanted. To tell you the truth, that served as the inspiration for the Amity Project. Get a communication tower up in the sky, higher than the Grimm can survive so we never lose contact with each other again.”

“But you're not using the Staff to raise Amity.” Oscar pointed out.

“The Staff can only be used for one purpose at a time. We're going to have to do Amity the old fashioned way, Dust and all.” Ironwood explained.

Oscar looked curiously at the Vault. “It feels strange, knowing that part of me helped come up with all this.”

Ironwood looked back at Oscar. “You'll get used to it, I'm sure. Eventually, you won't even know who's who anymore.”

Oscar’s shoulders sagged at that unpleasant comment.

“Right.” He muttered quietly.

Ironwood sighed. “We... didn't always see eye to eye, but... I wish I could ask Ozpin what he thought of all of this.”

Oscar walked forward to stand next to Ironwood. “Well, I can tell you what I think. The path you're heading down where you're the only one with the answers, where you do the thing you think is right no matter the cost, it's not going to take you anywhere good.”

Ironwood headed back towards the elevator, leaving Oscar standing alone. “We have to stop Salem. Nothing matters more.”

“Some things matter more, I think.” Oscar argued.

Ironwood stopped walking.

Oscar continued. “Keeping our humanity. It's what makes us different from her.”

Ironwood paused for a moment, then resumed walking and stopped in front of the elevator's control panel. He tapped on the screen.

“Sometimes I worry that's her greatest advantage. Without humanity, does she still feel fear? Does she ever hesitate? When Salem hit Beacon, even with all my ships, all of my soldiers... I was no match for her. I've never felt so helpless.” Ironwood stared intensely at the control panel, remembering red lights flickering on and off, machines whirring and alarms blaring.  
“The way she told me she was there.”

The control panel emitted a noise, and Ironwood is brought back to reality. He looked up as the elevator platform arrived.

Oscar walked up to stand beside him. “It's okay to be afraid. You just can't let that fear control you.”

“I am not going to end up like Lionheart.” Ironwood looked at Oscar.  
“Do you believe in me?”

Oscar took a split second to think and then walked onto the elevator platform. “I do believe in you, but not only you. I think the best thing you could do is sit down and talk with the people you're most afraid to.”

Ironwood chuckled. “Now you are starting to sound like him.”

Ironwood joined Oscar on the platform, and the elevator began rising through the shaft.

When they reached the main level of Atlas Academy, the elevator opened and they saw Penny fidgeting with her hands while Winter paced back and forth behind her, holding an envelope. The sound of the door shutting prompted Winter to stop and Penny to look up. Ironwood and Oscar walked towards them.

“Winter, what is it?” Ironwood asked.

Standing at attention, Winter rigidly handed Ironwood an envelope with a wax seal bearing the Schnee family emblem. Ironwood opened the letter and read it, his eyes widening slightly after a few moments. He looked at Winter, who stared at him with a bleak expression.

“What's going on?” Oscar poked in.

“It looks like you're getting your wish.” Ironwood said, holding up the letter.

“My father's first act.” Winter said.  
“We've all been invited to dinner where the General will be defending his seat on the Council.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I’m putting other ships in the background cause I can’t help myself 😂 Added a little bit of springthyme cause I love it


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacques Dinner Party had begun. How will our Huntsmen spend the night?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has got a little more Clover backstory that I have been waiting for a WHILE to show y’all so I hope you like it 😊
> 
> God these chapters are all getting so long 😂
> 
> Quick warning!!!! There is multiple mentions of alcoholism as well as injuries, it shouldn’t be too graphic but the warnings there just in case ❤️

The news of Jacques invitation spread to the rest of the group, Qrow had picked up the letter from Ironwood and went with Oscar to Team RWBYs dorm room to give it to them. Weiss now held it, reading over the invitation to Schnee Manor meticulously.

“Only my father would turn a hostile takeover into a fluffy PR move.” She scoffed.

In their dorm room, Weiss stood by the beds, Ruby and Oscar sat in chairs and Blake and Yang had taken Weiss' bed as a seat, meanwhile Qrow stood in the doorway. None of them looked happy.

“On the news, he said he just wanted to break bread and hash things out. Maybe it won't be so bad? We do want the General to start opening up to these people, right?” Ruby asked.

“Yeah, but on his terms.” Oscar said.  
“Ironwood's going to be locked in a room at his rival's own dinner party. I know Jacques says he's happy to moderate, but all that really means is he'll be the one controlling the conversation.”

Blake rolled her eyes. “Not hard to imagine how that's gonna play out.”

“Couldn’t agree more, kid.” Qrow huffed.

“I still can't believe he won. Robyn was supposed to be the people's champion, wasn't she?” Weiss sighed.  
“There's just too many coincidences.”

“You really think your dad might have something to do with Salem?” Yang asked.

“I think my father would do whatever it takes to win.” Weiss replied.

“And we should do the same.” Ruby said.

Weiss quirked a brow. “Meaning...?”

“Well, no one knows your dad better than you, and out of everyone going tonight, I'd say you're the only one who could snoop around the house and not be questioned.” Ruby suggested.  
“If Jacques Schnee is up to something, I think we should know what it is.”

“The bastards always up to something.” Qrow thought.

Weiss thought about it for a moment, then gained a somewhat determined look.

“Well, looks like we’ve got a dinner party to crash.” Qrow grinned.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

An Atlas Broadcast News airship hovered in the night sky above the Schnee Manor. Four cars drove around the driveway loop and came to a stop in front of the manor. While Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Qrow got out of their car, Jaune and Oscar stood nearby, having already exited theirs. The Ace-Ops exited another of the cars, and Ironwood stepped out of the fourth and final one with Winter and Penny following close behind. They all looked up at the Manor with mixed feelings of awe and dread of what’s to come.

“Suppose we should smile for the cameras?” Ironwood asked.

“Sir, with all due respect, you'd have to pay me.” Winter replied.

Qrow snorted. Honestly, how could a woman so serious be simultaneously hilarious?

Ironwood smiled in amusement at Winter's response, and the group headed to the front door of the manor. Weiss stopped and took a deep breath before following them. Everyone gathered at the door, and Ironwood rung the bell. After a few moments, the large double doors opened to reveal Whitely Schnee.

“Good evening, everyone.” He greeted.

Weiss frowned and stepped out of the group. “Where's Klein?”

Whitley responded with a sarcastic smile and a somewhat dramatic pose. “What an interesting way to say ‘Hello, dear brother, how have you been?’ “

“A Schnee with an attitude, what a surprise.” Qrow mumbled sarcastically to himself. He was lucky no one heard him.

Whitely crossed his arms and continued to address Weiss with a frown. “I'm afraid you won't find him here. He was let go. I can't imagine why.”

Whitley smirked, and upon realizing what he meant, Weiss gasped and looked guilty. Qrow heard about how Weiss left the Manor, and how the kind butler known as Klein had helped her. So of course Jacques wouldn’t have took that well.

“General, exactly how large do you think our dining room table is?” Whitely asked, unamused by the amount of people that stood at his doorstep.

“I happen to know it's enormous. But most of my guests will be on standby in case the council requests additional eye witnesses. Until then I'm sure they'll be happily celebrating your father's victory.” Ironwood said.

Whitley forced what appeared to be a sarcastic grin with a smug chuckle, then he rolled his eyes as he turned to lead them into the foyer. Scattered around the room were small groups of formally dressed guests. Waiters roamed the room with trays of wine glasses and hors d'oeuvres. Whitley stopped in the middle of the room, turned to the oversized group of Huntsman and pointed to his right.

“For those of you joining us in the dining room, please follow me.” He walked in the direction he pointed, crossing his arms behind his back, a clear mimic of his father.

Ironwood, Winter, Penny and Clover followed. Clover glanced back at the others with a smile.

“Wish us luck.” He said.

Qrow grinned. “I mean, they already invited you, didn't they?”

Clover responded with a slight chuckle, and Qrow felt a gentle warmth spread through his chest. 

Unexpectedly, a Faunus waiter approached Qrow and offered him a tray of wine glasses with his rabbit ears folded back politely. “Care for a drink, sir?”

Qrow looked at the wine, his eyes widened slightly and he felt his heart drop to his stomach. He rushed a response.

“Uh... No, n-no thanks.” Qrow muttered, waving his hand in rejection and turning to RWBY.  
“I think I'll just stick to patrolling the grounds.”

Qrow walked away from the group, desperately ignoring the wave of nausea that violently struck him. He needed some fresh air. Marrow frowned and watched the waiter pass by.

“Words out of my mouth.” He said, walking away in the same direction as Qrow.

Qrow reached outside and stood on the balcony looking over the garden. He clung to the rail and gulped down as much air as he could muster, attempting to tame his wildly beating heart. From the corner of his eye, he saw Marrow walk past, he hoped he didn’t look as bad as he felt. Thankfully, Marrow went past without as much as a glance, stepping down into the garden and disappearing into his patrol.

He needed a distraction, Qrow looked around at the garden, up at the sky, anywhere but at the party. This was harder than he thought, it made him feel miserable. He now realised the only reason he seemed to be doing so well is because he had been too busy to even find a drink. But now, he was practically surrounded by alcohol, with wine and whiskey being served by every waiter and drunken guests laughing away with drinks in their hands, the stench of liquor coming from their breaths and invading the atmosphere.

It all seemed like too much, he wasn’t ready yet. This addition was still very much real. Still so unbearably real. Qrow wanted to scream, to throw up, to kick away all of the glasses in that room and yell at those guests for making this so difficult for him. But he couldn’t cause a scene like that, what would his nieces think?

His nieces. Yang and Ruby. Did they see how he looked at the glass? Did they see how panicked he became all because he was offered a drink? Did they think he would break and chug down whatever he was given? Did they think he was pathetic to run away and hide all because of one question?

“Care for a drink, sir?”

No. No, to hell with your drink. It can fuck off. All of it can fuck off. This party, Jacques, Ironwood, the food, the alcohol, the guests. It was all too much.

“The meeting hasn’t even started, and Jacques is already being a pain.” 

Qrow snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look at whoever was speaking to him.

Clover.

“W-what?” Qrow stuttered.

“I mean, the guy is throwing a fit just because Councilman Sleet is running a little late.” Clover pointed back to the room with a chuckle.  
“The meeting can’t start without him, so we’re all waiting. But, that means I can have some time to myself, so why not come talk to... you. What’s wrong?”

Clover trailed off when he saw Qrow’s face, panicked and repulsed.

“What?” Qrow repeated, his head still dazed from his rushing thoughts.

“You don’t look alright. What happened?” Clover asked, walking over until he stood next to Qrow in front of the railing.

Qrow wiped the sweat from his face. “Nothing, I’m... I’m fine.”

“You look like you’re gonna throw up.” Clover said, bringing his hand to Qrow’s forehead to check his temperature, he was surprisingly cold.

“It’s just... it’s just the...” Qrow couldn’t finish, he felt out of breath as the nausea still hadn’t left his stomach.

“Woah, hey. Alright.” Clover soothed, letting Qrow lean on the rail as he rubbed his back.  
“Just breathe.”

Qrow dropped his head as he took deep breaths, focusing on the pressure Clover put between his shoulders. Eventually, his breathing stabilised, and he tried his best to stand up straight.

“I’m sorry... that was—“

“A panic attack.” Clover interrupted.  
“And it’s not something to apologise for.”

“Right.” Qrow sighed.  
“I just... didn’t expect it to happen.”

“Nobody does.” Clover said.  
“That’s the worst part about them. Always showing up when you least expect it or want it to.”

Qrow tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a huff of breath. His mouth was dry and his throat felt closed up as if he was about to cry.

“Is it the alcohol? I remember you saying you gave up drinking.”

Qrow was surprised he remembered that, he nodded. “It’s just... a lot harder than I thought.”

If Clover heard Qrow’s voice crack, he didn’t say anything about it. He leaned against the railing and looked over the garden with him.

“Well, you did a good job walking away from it.” Clover said.

“Really? Cause I feel ridiculous.” Qrow muttered.

“It’s better than having a relapse.” Clover replied.  
“It means you’re still fighting it.”

“Feels more like a struggle than a fight.” Qrow groaned, rubbing his temple with his fingers.

“Yeah, I know.” Clover said.

Qrow looked over at him. “You know... how exactly?”

Clover paused, that distant look returning from back at the Colosseum. “Remember how I said my mom passed away when I was young?”

Qrow nodded.

“It... took a toll on my dad for a long time.”

“Oh...” Qrow realised what he meant.  
“I’m sorry about that.”

“Hey... it’s ok. He got better eventually, returned to me and my sister. And even when he was drinking, he didn’t let it bring us down. He still tried his best to look after us, even when he was at his worst.”

Qrow felt a twinge of jealousy. He secretly wished his dad could have been like that.

“That’s good.” He muttered.

Once again, Qrow watched Clover with his nervous tic, messing with the fabric on his arm again. Only this time, he saw something on Clover’s skin.

“What’s that?” Qrow asked, pointing at Clover’s arm.

Clover froze up, then looked at where Qrow was pointing. There was scar tissue under the fabric.

“Ah, that.” Clover muttered, trying to brush off his anxiety with a laugh.  
“That’s, uh... an old injury.”

“... Do you mind if I asked what happened?” Qrow asked slowly, worried he may be pushing a little too far, but also selfishly wishing for a distraction.

Clover’s mind was flooded with older times, memories, or perhaps more like nightmares. The explosion, the screaming, the casualties.

The incident.

He wasn’t sure if he could speak a word of what happened that day. What he lost. But, he thought back to what Qrow said when talking about his own past. “Sure, it’s not the happiest childhood, but still... it’s nice to talk about it with someone.” Clover couldn’t say too much... but maybe he could get enough off his chest to ease the pain from that day.

After staying silent for a little too long, Clover shook out of his trance and looked at Qrow.

“There was... an incident. It was in an underground facility, the place was falling apart and there were explosions everywhere. The Ace-Ops weren’t a formed group at the time, and it was only me, Vine and Elm that had long since graduated at the time. Something blew up and... a piece of debris hit me.” Clover unraveled the red fabric from his arm, revealing a large scar that wrapped around his left bicep.  
“It almost took my arm clean off. Doctors said I was lucky I didn’t lose anything or die from the blood loss.”

“Shit. That is lucky.” Qrow said, his mouth gaped in shock.

“Yeah... ten years ago now. Hell, time really flies sometimes.” Clover muttered, wrapping the fabric back up to cover the ancient wound.

“Huh, didn’t realise the Ace-Ops weren’t around back then. I thought James made the group as soon as he became General.” Qrow said.

“Well, I’m sure you know about Ironwood’s... injury. Losing half your body? Yeah, that’s bound to have an impact on someone. So he made the Ace-Ops. First he got Vine, then it was me and Elm joined a couple years after. After that, it was Harriet and a friend she went to the Academy with; Tortuga.”

“Tortuga? What happened to them? Did they quit?” Qrow asked.

“No, they... passed away about a year and a half ago.” Clover replied.

“A year and a— wait how long has Marrow been an Ace-Op?”

“Well he joined right after he graduated so... a year.”

“Damn.” Qrow said.  
“You’d think James might have given Harriet some more time to grieve.”

“Six months is a while.” Clover commented.

“Yeah but still, to have your friend replaced like that... Not the greatest choice on James part.”

“Unfortunately, Ironwood has made a lot of choices like that.” Clover said, his brows furrowing.  
“He makes decisions without consulting the people around him.”

Qrow thought back to when James brought his entire army to the Vytal Festival. “Definitely.”

Clover’s face stilled to one of stone. Qrow saw how he looked out over the garden, the expression on his face almost seemed... angry.

“He always does it... he does whatever he wants without thinking about what it’ll do to those around him.”

Qrow wanted to question what Clover was muttering about, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Hey, Clover!” Harriet called, standing by the doorway, they both turned to look at her.  
“Sleet is here. Ironwood wants you back in the dining room.”

“Right, I’m on my way.” Clover replied, his shoulders sagging from released tension neither of them noticed he was holding. He gave Qrow a light smile before leaving him alone by the railing.

Qrow was surprised. Clover actually seemed angry, a kind man like him harbouring such... rage.

One could only wonder why.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Once Clover entered the dining room, he saw that all the necessary guests for this meeting were accounted for; himself, Ironwood, Winter, Penny, Robyn, Councilman Sleet, Councilwoman Camilla and finally the dreaded host Jacques Schnee.

“General Ironwood, please... have a seat.” Jacques said. He stood at the head of the long dining room table on the other side of the room, opening his arms in a “welcoming” invitation. Sitting to either side of him are Sleet and Camilla. On the left side of the room, Robyn is stood by a window, staring outside with her arms crossed, her chair is placed in the middle of all this chaos. Clover saw Ironwood nod to him and Winter, who then took their seats on either side of him on the opposite end of the table nearest to the doors. Penny took a seat next to Winter, shuffling nervously as she looked down at her hands.

Clover didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to have to sit and listen to Jacques drag on and sneer in James face. He didn’t want to watch Penny, an unfortunate victim of circumstance, be sat between those with cautious eyes watching her every move. He didn’t want to talk about the election, not when he knows more than those he sits with.

Not when he has been a pawn in the scheme that has shaken this kingdom.

“Councilman Sleet, Councilwoman Camilla.” Ironwood greeted, taking his seat at the end of the table.

“Councilwoman Hill would have had a nice ring to it. Though I suppose I should just be grateful I got invited to the table.” Robyn commented, walking away from the window to sit and glare at Ironwood.

Clover had heard the reports of the casualties on that night. He knew one of them was Robyn’s own; Fiona Thyme. She had survived, but that didn’t relieve any of the stress or acrimony Robyn had felt. Clover couldn’t blame her, almost losing your fiancé will make anybody angry.

Jacques chuckled. “Miss Hill, that vigor of yours is precisely why we're grateful to have you with us tonight.”

“What is she doing here?” Ironwood asked, not at all hiding how unhappy he was to see her.

“What we're all doing here, James, addressing the concerns of our Kingdom, which means we have much to discuss.” Jacques replied.

Ironwood nodded. “Indeed. I was hoping we could start by—“

“Are we safe with her here, by the way?” Jacques looked over at Penny, who continued to stare down at her hands, upset by his comment.  
“I do recall some confusion regarding her involvement with that horrific massacre.”

“There’s not a hint of real sympathy in his voice.” Clover thought.

Ironwood turned defensive. “As the official report stated, that footage was doctored. Penny is completely under my control.”

“Which is concerning, I think.” Jacques sneered.

Penny tensed up her shoulders and looked down at her empty plate.

“Concerning?” Ironwood echoed.

Waiters and a waitresses, noticeably Faunus, entered the room carrying trays with plates of food. Clover hoped they would maybe stay and possibly ease the tension suffocating the room.

“Let's talk about exactly what it is you control.” Jacques said. Then, with a wave of his hand, the staff were quick to serve the guests and leave the room in a hurry, understanding that whatever was to be discussed was none of their concern.

The meeting had now begun, with the Council members versus Ironwood.

Sleet went first. “The fact of the matter is, you've operated with a fair amount of autonomy for the past few years, James. But we need now is for you to work with us.”

Clover noticed Winter tapping her finger on the table with a scowl on her face.

Ironwood tried to defend himself. “Sir, I have—“

“It's obvious that no kingdom intends to declare war on Atlas. We had no involvement in the incident at Haven, we have proof our drones weren't acting on orders at Beacon. At this point, the closure of Atlas borders is only serving to hurt our relations with the rest of the world.” Camilla said sternly.

“I—“

“The rest of the world? It's hurting us. The people of Atlas are suffering and they want to know why.” Robyn demanded, turning her head to look at Ironwood.

“Quite right, Ms. Hill.” Jacques agreed.

Winter continued tapping.

Ironwood saddened expression turned to one of annoyance as he looked at Jacques.The rest of the table turned to him as well.

“And I'm afraid there's more than just your choices that have brought harm to our citizens as of late. Have your forces found any additional evidence as to who is slaughtering innocent civilians down in Mantle?” Jacques asked.

The murders. Tyrian.

Clover stepped in, looking at Ironwoods distressed face and as he began to speak, he turned his gaze to Jacques.

“That is an ongoing investigation, the details of which are classified, I'm afraid.” Clover explained, a tsunami of anxiety attacking his stomach while his face somehow remained still.

Jacques immediately began speaking again, not leaving even a split second of silence, he was adamant on controlling this conversation. “I'm afraid of the ever-growing list of classified information you seem to be keeping. I asked our fellow councilmen here to shed some light on your Amity Colosseum project and, as it turns out, they know about as much as I do.”

Winter’s tapping sped up on the table.

“Even you don't know?” Robyn asked, baffled.

Tap, tap, tap.

Ironwood tried to stay calm. “The Amity Project will help with all of the issues you've presented, but you have to understand that discretion is a top priority at this time.”

“Are you saying you don't trust us?” Jacques pressured.

CLASH!

Winter's tapping turned to an aggressive slam as her fist connected onto the table, disrupting the cutlery as she stood up, facing Jacques.

“You can't just buy trust like everything else, you have to earn it!” She yelled.

There is silence for a few moments, then Jacques began to smile.

“I couldn't have said it better myself.” He grinned.

Winter gasped, shaken out of her sudden anger.

Jacques continued. “General, if I may be blunt, you have spent what little trust this Council had left in you. The hacker who turned Atlas drones against us was never captured, whoever's been murdering your critics is still at large. How are we supposed to give you our trust, when you've given us nothing as of late?”

“That's not what—“

“Winter.” Ironwood interrupted.

The eldest Schnee stopped and looked at Ironwood.

“That's enough.” He said.

Winter stood with clenched fists.

“Excuse me.” She muttered, quickly exiting the room just as a female butler entered, shoving the door open on her way out into the hall.

“What a hell scape for kids.” Clover thought.  
“I can’t imagine what the rest of those Schnees are up to.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Hello darling.”

Weiss turned around startled only to see her mother, Willow Schnee, standing behind Jacques' desk with a bottle in one hand and a glass in the other.

“I'm sorry I couldn't come down for your party, I'm... afraid I'm not feeling well.”  
Willow said, walking around to the side of Jacques' desk and setting her bottle and glass on it.

“Um... it's okay, mom. It's fine.” Weiss replied hesitantly. 

There is a brief silence. In a house like this, there are many of those. This place was always a “home” of cold, jarring silences.

“What are you doing i-in your father's office?” Willow asked slowly.

Weiss blinked rapidly, unprepared for the question, but she soon recovered. “Just looking for something I left.”

Willow looked down at her glass, leaning it in circles on the desk. “That's right, you... left. You left.”

Weiss stepped carefully across the room, headed for Willow and the desk.

“I need to use father's computer.”

“Why?”

“Because I think he may have done something. Something wrong.”

“I thought we all simply assumed that at this point.” Willow turned her back to the desk and leaned against it, resting her hand on top of her glass. 

Weiss looked at the glass, then at Willow. “Yes, well, some of us are trying to do something about it.”

Willow tensed her fingers on the glass. She snatched up her bottle of vodka and drank straight from it, her glass now easily forgotten. Weiss looked away and gripped her arm  
tightly. Willow finished drinking and gazed at Weiss, gaining a look of realization, followed by sadness and maybe even shame. She set the bottle on the desk.

“He started locking his home computer.” Willow turned and picks up a Scroll from the desk. “But... he still has blind spots.”

She opened the Scroll and tapped one of the buttons, showing Weiss a live camera feed of the office. Weiss gasped and looked at the corner behind Jacques' desk.

“You put a camera in here?” She asked, looking back at Willow.

“I put them in every room of this house, for our safety, in case I ever needed to…” Willow quickly trailed off and took a moment to gather herself. She then looked back at Weiss.  
“You haven't come back to stay, have you?”

“... No.”

“Good.” Willow smiled, so bittersweet, a single tear rolled down her cheek. The smile soon faded, and she wiped the tear away, while Weiss looked away.  
“A man came by.”

She handed Weiss the Scroll, picked up her bottle and began walking across the room.

“I'm afraid your father may be involved in something more dangerous than he realizes.” She said.

Weiss looked at the Scroll, the screen showed a recorded video of Jacques and a man she didn’t recognise.

“No matter what happens, Weiss... please don't forget about your brother.” Willow warned.

Weiss looked up at her mother. “Whitley wants nothing to do with me.”

Willow stopped at the door and turned to look at Weiss. “Of course not, you left him alone... With us.”

Willow left the room, shutting the door behind her. Weiss stared at the door, bitterness and regret festering in her chest. She then gathered herself and looked at the paused video suspiciously.

“Who are you?” She muttered, tapping the screen to play the video.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Thunder rumbled as rain poured down on the streets of Mantle. Watts is stood on a roof in front of a billboard advertising Atlas Academy, holding his umbrella in his right hand and his Scroll in his left. He held up the Scroll and tapped a folder with the Atlas emblem on it, which brought up three windows. The third window showed a map of Mantle with the sections colored red. Tapping away a couple times on his Scroll, it began making a processing noise, then a large portion of the Mantle map lost its red colour. 

“How kind of our little soldier to give me so much information on both cities. I couldn’t have done it without him.” Watts smirked as he walked away.

Across Mantle, the heating units began powering down. Soon, the warm orange glow disappeared from the sky, and the rain stopped. Watts tossed his umbrella off the roof as snowflakes begin drifting down.

A small child inside his house ran to the window and looked at where a mysterious umbrella fell. He then looked around at the snow drifting slowly from the sky.

“Hey mom, it's snowing!”

The child ran off to get his mother. The snowfall grows heavier, and wind began to blow.

Warmth. A common necessity in this Kingdom had now been stripped from one of its cities. One could only fear the consequences this would lead to.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacques’ meeting continues. The City in the Sky floats safe, whilst hell breaks loose on the ground.
> 
> Or perhaps it’s just Hell freezing over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise chapter update! I usually leave a few days but my notes are so bloated with chapters I just wanted to get some out 😂

Snow continued to fall from the night sky over Mantle, collecting on roads, sidewalks and rooftops. The tranquil scenery nothing but a facade for what this weather truly meant for the city. Pietro and Maria stood outside his clinic with the door open, allowing civilians to take shelter inside.

“What's going on?” One woman asked.  
“Is the heat off in Atlas too?”

“They wouldn't just turn the heat off…” A man replied.  
“... Would they?”

Pietro and Maria looked at each other and then up at the City of Atlas, the underside of which is still lit up with vibrant cyans and purples, clear signs of life and prosperity. No, if Atlas’ heating had been shut off too it would be all over the news, but it was just Mantle, so off course none were the wiser. They already lived in Atlas’ shadow anyway.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

And indeed, inside the dining room of the Manor, the Atlas councilmen, Robyn and the now returned Winter continued to talk to Ironwood, none the wiser of the crisis below their feet.

“General, since the day you were appointed Headmaster, there have been Atlesians who are skeptical of one man holding two Council seats.” Camilla said.

“Yes, which is exactly why we have checks and balances.” Ironwood reasoned.

“We're supposed to, but lately you've been running roughshod all over them, making unilateral decisions without us.” Sleet said, narrowing his eyes.

“Councilman, I never intended—“

“What people intend and what they do aren't always the same, General.”

“I can’t help but agree.” Clover muttered to no one.

A butler walked into the room and stopped at Jacques’ side, nervously leaning down to whisper into his ear.

“Hm?” Jacques hummed. The butler spoke and Clover saw how his eyes went wide, he turned to speak to him in a hushed voice.  
“What? For how long?”

The butler whispered again. 

Jacques looked pale. “My authorization? Check it again!”

The butler hurried out of the room, and Sleet looked at Jacques. “Councilman Schnee?”

Jacques tensed. He cleared his throat, adjusting his tie as he gestured awkwardly. “Um... Yes, I, uh… agree with everything, everything that was, uh, just said. No, uh, no further questions.”

For the first time, Jacques went quiet as he collected himself. Sleet, Camilla and Robyn stared at him for a moment.

Robyn turned back to Ironwood. “I'm not quite done yet. You're afraid of something, General. Aren't you?”

Ironwood straightened in his chair. “I think that's pretty obvious, Miss Hill. I'm trying to prevent Atlas from becoming another Beacon, another Haven.”

While Robyn spoke, Clover noticed that Jacques didn’t appear to be paying close attention. Instead, he clasped his hands in front of his face, then put his left hand to his mouth, prodding and picking like a child facing detention.

Clover turned his attention back to what Robyn was saying. “Yet, you don't trust your own Council to help you? Operating in secret? These are the actions of somebody who's hiding something.”

“I'm not hiding anything.” Ironwood said a little too quickly.

“Let's put it to the test then.” Robyn stood up, and Jacques lowered his hand from his face and watched as she approached Ironwood.

“You're all aware of my semblance. Let's settle it here and now, General Ironwood.” Robyn strolled towards him until she stood next to his chair and held out her hand. He looked at her hand, then at the councilmen, who showed no protest to this idea.

“Here and now.” Robyn said lowly.

Ironwood looked back at her hand again. Clover grew tense. But, before anything could be done, the double doors on the other end of the room noisily swung open.

“Wait!” Weiss called.

Everyone looked toward the door, Robyn’s face appearing the most annoyed. Weiss stood in the doorway, holding the doors open.

“You've got the wrong man on trial.” Weiss said.

Clover gritted his teeth but kept his composure. Whatever she had found could compromise their operation. Was it him? Was he found out? What would he do if he was exposed? He needed more than luck in this case.

The young Schnee walked into the room and thankfully stopped next to Jacques. Nobody noticed Clover’s body sag with relief.

“I know who's been framing Ironwood, who rigged the election. And my father does, too. He's been working with him.” Weiss sets the Scroll that her mother had given her on the table and tapped the screen, causing it to project a hologram screen into the air. The screen depicts a paused video of Jacques and a man only recognised by few in the room.

“Is that... Arthur Watts?” Camilla asked shocked.

Sleet stood up. “That's impossible! Dr. Watts died in the Paladin Incident years ago.”

“Wha— W-w-what is this?” Jacques stuttered nervously.

Ironwood stood up too. “Play it.”

“No, no, no!” Clover thought. What if Watts said something about him? He was surrounded by the worst possible people to find out.

Weiss tapped the play button on the Scroll, and the floating screen began playing the video. As it played, Jacques became more and more nervous, fidgeting with his hands and then his mustache, sweat quickly appearing on his brow. Everyone stayed silent, listening to him on the video.

“That bastard is costing me more money every day with this embargo. I'd lay off every employee in Mantle if I wasn't trying to get their damn votes for this Council seat!”

Watts smiled in the video. “What if I said you could have your cake and eat it, too?”

“What did you have in mind?” Jacques asked.

“James Ironwood never recognized my genius. After everything I gave him, he still disgraced me. I simply wish to return the favor.”

Sleet watched the video in stunned silence and sat back down. Meanwhile, Ironwood began walking across the room slowly towards Jacques, his voice still playing in the video.

“What's in it for me?”

“A seat on the council. All I need is your login credentials for the Atlas network.” Watts replied.

Winter narrowed her eyes at her father and subtly shook her head disapprovingly. Her emotional outburst now replaced with an ice cold glare which could easily freeze over the hottest day on Vacuo.

“The network? Couldn’t a man of your abilities easily get that yourself?” Jacques asked.

“Atlas has updated its system. I have my own ways of getting information from around the city and finding out about Ironwood’s activity, but the network has quite... tight security. I’m sure if I tried, I could in fact easily break that system, however I do not have the time or the patience for such an endeavour. So I’ll need your help.”

Clover hated how Watts balanced between secrecy and exposure, teetering on the edge to speaking about the information from Atlas and how it was found.

Watts continued speaking. “You promise to make Ironwood's life a waking nightmare, and I will guarantee you victory at the polls by giving the voters down in Mantle a little… "digital push", if you will.”

Robyn watched with widened eyes, gripping a nearby chair and staring at the screen angrily.

Jacques grinned wickedly in the video. “I always knew you were a good scientist, Arthur... but I never knew you were such a good salesman.”

Ironwood came to a stop near Weiss. “Enough.”

In the video, Jacques could be heard cackling and Weiss tapped the Scroll's screen, pausing the video and making the floating screen disappear.

“That, that is— I—“ Jacques quickly stood and moved next to his chair, putting his hands up.  
“I can explain that. That… isn't real.”

“Jacques, take your seat.” Sleet growled.

There is a brief pause before Jacques frantically ran for the double doors behind him. He hauled the doors open, only to stumble backwards at the sight of an Arma Gigas summon. He sputtered a little, then turned to look at his youngest daughter.

“Weiss…” Jacques seemed to plead.

“Jacques Schnee, you're under arrest.” Weiss said, withdrawing her Scroll to display her Huntress license to him with a very serious expression. A few moments passed, and she looked over her shoulder at Ironwood.  
“Can I do that?”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

In Mantle, people have began shouting, as the panic over the weather had caused tension between the citizens. Paying no mind to the commotion, Watts caught a snowflake in his palm and then crushed it.

He heard someone breaking glass nearby, and he turned to look. A man had shattered the front window of a shop called “Dust in the Wind”. On the other side of the window is a display of large Dust crystals and a pair of signs depicting their prices. The man grabbed two Fire Dust crystals and ran with them tucked away in his coat. The citizens had started a bonfire in the street and were throwing furniture into the fire. The man who looted the Dust shop ran over with his Dust crystals. The sounds of angry people shouting into the wind echoed through the streets.

“Atlas killed the heat on purpose!”

“They'll do anything to control us!”

The looter threw the Dust into the fire. There is a small sound as the crystal entered the flames, and the fire briefly burst outward, growing taller and brighter. A pair of Atlas soldiers watched from down the road, and one of them activated her communicator.

“The situation here is getting out of control. Please advise.”

Further down that same road, Watts stood around the corner of a building, peeking out at the Atlas soldiers. Behind him, Tyrian dropped down from somewhere above and chuckled.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

In the Manor dining room, Jacques is forcibly sat in a chair on the side of the room, with Winter, Ironwood, the Council, Robyn and Clover standing around him. Team RWBY and Penny are stood together at the end of the room. Clover received contact on his communicator and puts his fingers to it, listening.

“I knew you'd stoop low to get what you wanted, Jacques. But this?” Ironwood said.

Clover glanced at the General and then walked out of the room, continuing to listen to his communicator. He walked down the hallway until he was far away enough for Jacques’ interrogation to be nothing but muffled voices. Then, he pulled out his Scroll to answer a call.

“How are things in the sky, Soldier?” Watts asked, the smirk clearly heard in the voice.

Clover grimaced before replying. “I still don’t understand the point of roping in Jacques just to throw him under the bus like this.”

“Oh please, as soon as I entered that house I immediately saw all those cameras. How he didn’t see them I’ll never know.”

“Wait, you knew—“

“Of course I did you fool. What? Did you think I would rat you out in that video too?” Watts laughed down the line.  
“What use would you be to us then?”

Clover frowned. “I’m just saying, maybe he could have actually been more useful.”

“The days of Torchwick and simple Dust theft is over. This operation is on a much, much bigger scale.” Watts’ tone grew serious.  
“So do your job. You do want revenge, don’t you?”

“I didn’t want Mantle to suffer for it.” Clover replied quietly, gripping the fabric on his arm.

“A necessary sacrifice I’m afraid. We need as much panic as possible so that those Huntsmen stay distracted. The longer the better.”

“We’re setting the stage!” Tyrian yelled in the background, laughing gleefully for what’s to come.

“You know what to do. Get to it.” Watts ordered.

Clover paused.

“... Yes sir.”

He hated it. He hated all of this. It was wrong on so many levels and he felt there was no turning back from it.

But Ironwood... he deserved to suffer for what he did, what he caused all those years ago.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Back in the dining room, Jacques’ interrogation continued.

“This is all a great leap, James.” Jacques sputtered.

“No, it's quite simple really — now that I know Arthur Watts is alive. Working with a madman like Tyrian Callows, it would be easy for someone like him to coordinate an unthinkably heinous act like the one in that warehouse. Watts designed Mantle's entire security network. He used that access to hack the surveillance system and frame someone else for the job.” Ironwood said.

Everyone but Jacques looked at Penny, who looked away sadly. Ruby placed her hand on her shoulder for comfort. Ironwood looked back at Jacques again.

“All while stealing an election.” Ironwood moved closer to Jacques.  
“And once you became a Councilman, your newly granted clearance gave him a backdoor into Atlas' secure network. But you probably hadn't even considered that, had you?”

“The people that died that night, their blood is on your hands.” Robyn snarled, righteous anger flooding her veins.

“Jacques Schnee must be tried, not only for treason, but as an accesory to murder.” Sleet said.

Jacques shuffled in his chair. “These are outrageous accusations! I only intended to win the election. I had nothing to do—“

“Only?!” Enraged, Robyn grabbed the nearest chair and slammed it into the wall.   
“My fiancé almost died! All because you “only” wanted to win the election?!”

Penny gasped in shock, Jacques looked away guiltily, while Ironwood, Winter and the councilmen looked at Robyn. Ironwood straightened up from where he leant on the arms of Jacques’ chair.

“What else will he be able to do with the access Jacques' given him?” Camilla demanded.

“With enough time… whatever he wants.” Ironwood frowned.

Jacques, Camilla, Sleet and Ironwood's Scrolls all buzzed, with Jacques' Scroll lighting up the pocket of his coat. The sudden noise and sensation caused him to jump in fright. Ironwood, Camilla and Sleet withdrew their Scrolls. Camilla deployed her screen, which displayed an emergency alert, and Sleet answered a call on his.

“Wait… wait, what? What do you mean the heat has gone off?”

Weiss puts her hand to her lips. Blake looked worried, and Yang looked somewhat angry.

Jacques continued his pointless ramblings. “You have to believe me, I-I-I didn't know he was planning this.”

Winter slammed her hands down on the arm of Jacques' chair, and he flinched away from her. “You are going to shut your mouth and get the heating grid up and running again.”

“I… I've been informed that we can't get into the system. It's… it's been blocked off.” Jacques admitted.

Ironwood had been staring at the alert on his Scroll's screen. He lowered his Scroll and turned away, while Robyn walked over to a window and placed her hand on it, looking outside.

“Without heat down there... people are going to die.” Sleet said.

Dread filled the air. Penny and Ruby looked at each other worriedly. Ironwood had his hand to his jaw, covering his mouth. Ruby walked over to him.

“General Ironwood? How bad is it?” She asked.

Ironwood typed something into his Scroll and then swiped through things, one being a screen that displays a shape similar to Amity Communications Tower. “He's using Jacques' credentials. We can follow that activity on the network. If he's found his way into the Amity system…”

Robyn turned her head.

“No, the secret is safe. For now. But if he learns about Amity, she learns about Amity.” While he spoke, Ironwood walked past Ruby and Robyn, both of whom watched him.

“Can you block his access?” Weiss asked.

Ironwood walked past Weiss, Blake and Yang, swiping through pages that kept bringing up an "Access Denied" alert.

“It's too late. He's already starting to lock us out.”

“Can we trace him somehow? Find out where he's hiding?” Blake suggested.

“He's going to be mobile. We need his access point. We need to get him out in the open.” Ironwood muttered, still scanning through his screen to find anything else he was tampering with.

“Okay, so let me get this straight.”

Ironwood stopped, and he, Blake, Yang, Weiss and Penny looked at Robyn. She held up her hand and then did a finger gun gesture as she spoke.

“Yep, still here everyone.” She resumed a serious expression and walked towards Ironwood.  
“How do a disgraced scientist and disappeared serial killer find each other, General? Why would they target you? And why are you working so hard to hide the Amity Communications Tower from them?”

Ironwood raised his brow in surprise. “You know?”

Robyn stood face to face with Ironwood. “I used to think you were hiding something to protect yourself. But I can tell there's something much bigger going on here. Now I think it's to protect something else. Us… Atlas, maybe even all of Remnant. And you're afraid of what might happen if you tell the truth.”

Ironwood frowned. The double doors on the other end of the room opened, with Clover and Oscar on the other side.

“General, the Grimm are all over Mantle.” Clover said, hurrying across the room with Oscar close behind to stand near Ironwood.  
“The air fleet's doing everything they can, but they can't easily target Grimm in the city without risking casualties.”

“This... this is what I was afraid would happen.” Ironwood put his hand to his jaw and walked away.

Clover felt desperate, he didn’t want lives to be unnecessarily lost. “Sir, we need ground support now.”

Robyn chipped in. “What we need is to start evacuating Mantle. If it's completely overrun, it's not going to be safe anywhere. Use the fleet to get—“

“If I move the fleet, then Atlas is vulnerable. I… I tried to keep the kingdom safe. And now we're losing everything.” Ironwood placed his right hand on the wall and leaned for support, covering his face with his left hand. Oscar approached him, resting his hand on the Relic of Knowledge.

“General? Earlier, you asked for my advice.”

“I wanted Ozpin’s advice.” Ironwood muttered.

“And his advice probably would've been to keep your secrets. When we first got here, you already knew that wasn't the right course. You had a new plan.” Oscar said.

“It's time to give up on that plan.” Ironwood straightened up, lowering his hand from his face.  
“It's all falling apart.”

“The panic you were worried about? It's already happening. The secrets you're keeping? They're about to be in the open anyway. It's time.” 

Ironwood turned to Oscar.

“Tell the truth.”

“You're not alone.” Ruby reassured, approaching him with an encouraging smile.  
“We can do this together.”

Ironwood nodded and smiled. “Thank you. Oscar, I think it's time you get back to the Academy.

“I think you're right.” Oscar rested his hand on the Relic again. 

While Ironwood spoke, Winter brought out her Scroll and started using it, heading over to him. “Miss Hill, Councilman Sleet, Councilwoman Camilla, there are some things you need to know about. Let's figure out how we can help Mantle… together.”

Winter holds up her Scroll, with "Transport Authorized" displayed at the top of the screen. “I've called a transport.”

“What about Watts and Tyrian?” Yang asked.

“You leave them to me. Right now, you're needed down below.” Ironwood ordered.

Ruby stepped toward the others and posed with her hands on her hips. “Alright everybody, it's time to do our jobs. All of us.”

Weiss, Blake and Yang looked at Penny, who finally smiled.

“What she said. Let's make it happen, Huntsmen.” Clover headed out of the room with Team RWBY, Penny, Oscar and Winter following.

As they went to the froyer, Clover saw Qrow catching up with the group. His heart dropped to his stomach, everything he was doing, it would destroy the friendship he had with him. It would destroy everything. But what else could he do? It was too late to back out now, that much he knew.

He just hoped that Qrow would never have to find out about the real him. Otherwise he wasn’t sure if he could live to tell it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mantle needs saving, Tyrian needs capturing and Watts needs to be stopped. All this in one night? Absolutely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a chapter of fight scenes that took FOREVER 😂😂 there’s just so much that happens in rwby fights so it takes a while to get done.

Team RWBY, JNR, Qrow and the Ace-Ops flew towards Mantle aboard a Manta that is being piloted by Harriet. Clover looked out the windshield gazing over the city, then turned around to address everyone sat in the passenger area in the back.

“Alright, everyone. I need to stress to our new Huntsmen and Huntresses, we are prioritizing citizen safety over killing Grimm. Got it?”

Teams RWBY and JNR nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

THUNK!

A Teryx landed on the front end of the ship and looked through the windshield, roaring whilst spreading its wings. Marrow looked into the back of the ship.

“Hang on!”

Jaune, Nora, Ren, Blake and Yang buckled their seatbelts. Jaune leaned on his sword with his eyes closed in concentration, he still had quite a weak stomach when it came to flight, so he prayed his nickname “Vomit Boy” wouldn’t come back to bite him now. Elm held onto Qrow and Clover, activating her semblance to keep her footing and support the three of them. Weiss created black glyphs under herself, Ruby and Vine to keep them steady.

Harriet began making the Manta perform maneuvers, leaning and spinning in an attempt to knock the Teryx off. Inside, Jaune held his fist in front of his mouth, gagging slightly, and Ren looked over at Nora,holding onto her right arm. The Teryx let go with its hind legs and swung itself to stand on top of the Manta. It then made its way down the right side of the ship and clawed its right hand at the ship. Blake and Yang leaned away from each other just in time to avoid the Teryx's talons as it slashed straight through the wall, the sound of metal groaning as it was bent and torn apart.

“I can't shake it!” Harriet shouted.

Another Teryx swooped down, slamming its hind claws through the ship's right wing and flying away, causing an explosion in the ship's wing. Debris flew off the damaged wing, and it began flaming and smoking. The ship became unsteady and started tilting uncontrollably.

“I don't think we're staying airborne.” Marrow said.

“It's time to go!” Qrow warned.

“You have your team assignments.” Clover said, heading over to the ship door, flicking his clover pin with his thumb.  
“Let's go.”

He hit the airship's door, making it slide open. On the other side of the door is the Teryx's head, it screeched at Clover, who stood with his back to it with a smirk on his face. Qrow panicked, thinking the Grimm would swipe him right there. Luckily, half of the damaged ship wing snapped off and slammed into the Teryx, knocking it off the ship. 

Despite the smile on his face, Clover knew his confidence towards Grimm wouldn’t matter. None of it would matter, they would never directly attack him. He had that “lucky” privilege.

Jaune, Ren, Weiss and Nora jumped out of the ship one by one.

“Harriet, don't stay too long.” Elm said as she walked to the door.

“Yeah, thanks for the tip.” Harriet replied sarcastically.

Marrow, Yang and Blake jumped out of the ship next. Elm held out her hand to Clover, who hesitated before clasping his hand with hers.

“This pointless friendliness won’t matter soon.” Clover thought.

Elm jumped up, grabbed onto the doorway of the ship, and swung herself out. Glass from the front of the ship shattered and flew backward towards Clover, who shielded his face with his arms. Harriet is stood on the pilot seat with her weapon deployed, having shattered the windshield. She looks back at Ruby and smirked.

“Try to keep up, kid.”

Ruby laughed, an excited grin on her face. Harriet used her semblance to jump out the broken windshield, ran along the top of the ship and jumped off the tail, while Ruby followed her, flying through the air in a burst of petals.

The ship began descending closer and closer towards Mantle. Qrow opened the other door looking back to see Clover salute him and fall backwards from the ship.

Qrow scoffed, a smile on his face. “Show off.”

He leapt from the ship and flipped before letting himself freefall.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

The citizens of Mantle ran frantically in the streets, being chased by Beowolves, Ursai and Sabyrs, while Teryxes, Manticores and Giant Nevermores flew around above them. Atlas Soldiers did their best to help, firing at the packs of Grimm on the street. A Beowolf managed to tackle one of the soldiers, and the others shot fiery bullets at it, killing it. Mantas are flying overhead to provide support, however they are also at risk of being taken down by the flying Grimm. Mantle's outer wall doesn’t have enough defence. A herd of Megoliaths is pouring in through the hole, and they almost trampled the fleeing civilians.

The group have spread across the city to fight, attacking any Grimm that came near civilians and escorting those who fell behind to stay in groups where they could be easily watched and protected. There was only so many shelters to take them to until they would fill up, however there was a line of ships Ironwood directed for evacuation, leading the citizens up to Atlas where they could stay temporarily until their home was safe once more. Or at least that was the plan, at the moment, no one could tell how this would turn out.

On a rooftop somewhere in Mantle, Qrow shot at Teryxes, while Clover talked on his communicator.

“Okay, yes sir, understood, over and out.”

“New orders?” Qrow asked, turning to Clover.

“Yep. We’ve got a scorpion to catch. Let's go.” Clover and Qrow jumped down from the roof.

Beside the wall, Nora stood protectively in front of a group of civilians. The lights for the streets surrounding the area began turning red one by one with the ear splitting Grimm alarms now sounding off. Afraid, the civilians backed up against the wall.

“Take us to Atlas. We won't survive down here.” A woman begged.

“Why isn't Ironwood doing anything?” A Faunus man with horns demanded.

The aggravated civilians began shouting and walking toward Nora. “Take us to Atlas!”

Nora held up her hand. “Please, everyone. We're doing our best. We will get you to safety. Just give us a little more time!”

There was a loud ping noise, followed by a cyan glow, and the civilians stopped to look up at the wall, where a giant hologram screen depicting Robyn has appeared.

“Atlas, Mantle. I know you're scared. I’m here with General Ironwood, and we have a message for you.” The camera filming Robyn zoomed out to show that she is holding Ironwood's left hand, and their hands are both glowing with a green Aura.  
“What he has to say may sound unbelievable... but it is all true.”

Confused and still scared, the citizens of Mantle listened.

Ironwood began. “An ancient and terrible evil lies outside of our Kingdom. It was responsible for the destruction of Beacon, the attack on Have , and for the recent attacks on Mantle. This powerful force goes by the name of Salem. Salem seeks only to divide us. To turn us against each other. If she can incite hatred in us, then we will lure in the Grimm and destroy ourselves.”

“Salem herself does not work alone.” Robyn said.  
“Her minions have invaded our very city.”

“Arthur Watts and Tyrian Callows.” Ironwood named.  
“These men are the ones responsible for the recent murders in Mantle and for sabotaging the heating grid.”

Tyrian and Watts, who were hiding in a building's back patio, looked toward Ironwood's voice and then at each other.

“But we cannot let ourselves give in to fear and panic. That is what she wants!”

On the screen, Robyn and Ironwood are still holding hands, and the Aura coating their hands continues to glow green.

“Instead, we must unite, and fight back, together. Every single one of us! This, my friends, is why I was forced to divert resources from Mantle - for the Amity Communication Tower.”

Watts and Tyrian continued to listen to a small hologram screen that is perched in the nearby alleyway. At the moment, the screen is only displaying Ironwood from the chest up.

“Amity Tower is now completed and ready to launch. It will re-establish all global communications—“

Watts withdrew his Scroll and tapped the screen a few times, bringing up a hologram of Amity Tower, while Tyrian sharpened his weapon with a whet stone.

“The Colosseum remodelling was a communications tower? How did James get this past me?” Watts growled.

“Our little soldier seems to be skipping some important details.” Tyrian muttered, infuriating Watts even more.

“Because the safety of every citizen is imperative, the council and I have decided to evacuate everyone in Mantle to Atlas. I am withdrawing all defenses from Amity in order to assist with repelling the Grimm in Mantle.” Ironwood said.

“We must put aside our differences and band together to defeat this threat. I fully support General Ironwood's plan.” Robyn smiled, a hopeful tone in her voice.

Mantle's citizens cheered, and Nora turned around to look at the crowd, relieved that their anger had now been replaced with optimism.

Tyrian screamed in anger and punched a concrete wall, cracking it. “The Grimm should have destroyed our enemies, not made them friends!”

“Wait.” Watts said, turning off the Amity Tower hologram, pocketing his Scroll and standing in front of Tyrian.  
“Our tin soldier's heart has cost him his mind. We need to keep their attention on Mantle for as long as possible.”

Tyrian gave a crooked grin. “You want more chaos than a Grimm invasion?”

“If anyone on Remnant could deliver that, wouldn't it be you?” Watts smiled back.

On the nearby screen, Robyn began speaking, Tyrian and Watts turned their attention to it. Tyrian hovered his tail's stinger around her face from his point of view, giggling madly.

“If you've made it to your local shelter, stay put. Help is on the way. And for those of you in Sector 17, I'll be seeing you personally.”

Tyrian tapped his fingers together. “Come to think of it, I do have an idea.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Elsewhere in Mantle, Robyn is stood with Joanna and some civilians, listening to Penny on her communicator.

“It should be safe to begin evacuations now.” She said, sounding happy to be back in action as Mantle’s protector.

“Great work, Penny. Over and out.” Robyn stopped using her communicator and turned to Joanna.  
“Make sure you get these people to safety. I'm gonna check for any stragglers.”

Joanna nodded and hurried along the sidewalk with the citizens. Robyn headed down a nearby alleyway alone, and Tyrian watched her from a roof, chuckling. He jumped down into the alley behind her, to which Robyn quickly turned, aiming her crossbow at him.

Tyrian smiled playfully. “Robyn Hill. For such a little bird, you have quite the impact around here!”

She fired a crossbow bolt at his head, which he leaned and twists to the right to avoid. He turned to face her again and began walking towards her.

“Bringing hope and a smile wherever you go!” He growled.

She fired another bolt, but he caught it between his index and middle fingers.

“I find it… upsetting.” Tyrian twirled the bolt to hold it in his hand and then bent it with his thumb. 

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the bolt away while simultaneously deploying the blades on his weapon. Laughing maniacally, he charged for Robyn, deflecting two more crossbow bolts with his blades. Just as he approached her, a fish hook flew out from somewhere, Tyrian knocked it away and hopped backwards, landing with his tail propping him up. He looked in the direction the hook came from.

“Huh?” He muttered, looking back at Robyn, then Qrow and Clover dropped down behind her.

“Sorry Callows, I really wanted to pummel you on my own, but the General insisted I share.” Robyn smirked.

Qrow and Clover stepped forwards to stand beside Robyn, with Qrow drawing his weapon to point it at Tyrian while Clover rested his fishing pole on his shoulder.

“Well, you're not the only one with a grudge.” While Clover spoke, Qrow aimed his gun at Tyrian.

“You'll both have to get in line.”

Tyrian glared at them angrily. Although... his expression changed to a cheeky smile as he looked at Clover.

“A grudge? Why, whatever for little soldier?” He inquired.

Clover’s jaw clenched, but he kept up the act. “Tyrian Callows, you're under arrest.”

Tyrian began laughing maniacally, Qrow always hated that damn laugh, and he hated the way he talked to Clover. He yelled, angrily running forward to swing his sword at the Faunus. Tyrian blocked with his blades, but the impact knocked him into the wall of the alleyway. Qrow slashed at him again, but Tyrian ducked and attempted to kick his feet out from under him. Qrow quickly jumped over his leg before he could be knocked over, but it left him vulnerable. Tyrian rushed forwards to stab Qrow, who retaliated by blocking with his sword and swiping at him again.

Tyrian dodged acrobatically, standing on his hands, then turning over and leaping into the air to stab down at Qrow with both weapons. Qrow once again blocked with the flat of his sword. Tyrian hopped down, and Qrow continued to swing, missing due to Tyrian ducking down and propelling himself backward with his guns.

Tyrian began slashing at Qrow, but Clover hooked one of the blades with Kingfisher and pulled his arm away, causing him to turn around just in time to catch one of Robyn's crossbow bolts just short of piercing between his eyes. Tyrian was startled at first, but then grinned smugly and turned back to Qrow, who punched him directly in the eye, sending him stumbling. Qrow then slammed his knee into his gut, turned his sword in his hand, and bludgeoned the end of the hilt into Tyrian's chest, knocking him away. Qrow turned his sword back around in his grip while Tyrian slid to a stop and growled angrily. He looked over at Clover and Robyn, then grinned back at Qrow. 

Anxiety struck as Tyrian ran towards them while firing his guns at Qrow to keep him back. He spun Harbinger to block the bullets whilst Tyrian leapt and slashed at Clover, who turned to the side to dodge before leaning backward to avoid a slash from Tyrian's tail. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Clover whispered as Tyrian pressed his blades against the neck of Kingfisher, pushing him towards the wall in a struggle.

“Consider it punishment for not telling us about the Communication Tower.” Tyrian snarled back, then quickly grinned again.  
“Besides... I’m just helping you keep up your act!”

Tyrian slashed at him with his weapons, and Clover ducked out the way to step past him, leaning back to go under Tyrian's constant attacks while grabbing the hook of his own weapon. As he got behind Tyrian and straightened up, he manoeuvred his pole and hook to loop the fishing pole's wire around Tyrian's left arm and pulled on it. 

Qrow took the opportunity as Tyrian was distracted, leaping and slashing down at Tyrian, who somehow managed to react and block with his weapon on his right arm. Qrow quickly pulled his sword away and punched Tyrian in the cheek, causing him to turn away. Tyrian put his right hand on the ground seemingly to catch himself but then brought his feet up and used his right hand to push himself up into the air. He pulled his left arm free of Kingfisher's line, turned upside down and kicked both Qrow and Clover in the head simultaneously. 

As the two recoiled from his attack, Tyrian stabbed his blades into the ground to catch himself and then pushed off, flying up through the air while Robyn aimed her crossbow at him. He landed on a large pipe connected to the wall, and she fired a bolt at him, only for him to swipe it away with his tail. Tyrian turned towards Robyn, but Clover then hooked his exposed tail with Kingfisher and pulled him down. 

While Tyrian is on the ground, Qrow swung at him, but Tyrian rolled out of the way and got to his feet. Qrow began slashing his sword at him in quick flurries, but Tyrian dodged his attacks by jumping, ducking, stepping aside, and finally leaning back away from an attempted stab.

“You quick little bastard!” Qrow snarled, tossing his sword into the air, the sections of the blade splitting from each other to transform. Tyrian only gazed up for a moment, but it was enough time for Qrow to kick him in the back of the head, catching his sword as it came back down.

The kick sent Tyrian stumbling across the alley to slam into the wall. He glared at Qrow, his eyes now glowing purple, then he moved aside as Qrow attempted to kick him in the face. Low to the ground, Tyrian dodged past Qrow, who is now holding his weapon backwards with the blade curved. They turned to face each other, and once again, Clover hooked Tyrian's tail with Kingfisher and pulled, dragging Tyrian backward and giving Qrow an opening to punch him in the face. 

Tyrian was sent through the air, but managed to land on his feet. He barrelled forward in an attempt to stab Qrow with his weapons, but Qrow blocked it with his curved blade. Robyn fired two bolts, both of which ricocheted off the pipes. Tyrian moved his head to dodge the first, but the second ricocheted off of Qrow's weapon and struck him in the chin, making his Aura flicker.

“He’s getting weaker.” Qrow thought. Tyrian fell back, rolled, and got to his feet. Qrow jumped over and slashed at him, but Tyrian ducked under the first slash and jumped over the second. However, as Tyrian came back down, Qrow repositioned himself and kicked Tyrian in the gut, caught him on Harbinger's gun barrel and fired. 

As Tyrian came back down again, Qrow launched a hard punch to his stomach and then kicked him in the side, sending him toward Clover and Robyn.  
While Tyrian slid back, Clover ran forwards, deploying a bolas to restrain him. He tossed the bolas and slid between Tyrian's legs, who attempted to slash him with his right arm. The bolas successfully binded his left arm to his side. Clover gripped the top of his weapon's hook, and as Tyrian attempted to stab him, Clover pushed Tyrian's arm down with his left hand and used his right hand to move the pole around behind Tyrian. As the wild man attempted to pull back, his right arm became tangled in Kingfisher's wire, Clover pulled the pole and held the hook in place to restrict Tyrian's arm while also pressing his tail against his back. Qrow took the opportunity to punch Tyrian in the gut.

Tyrian howled out in pain, then snarled as he crouched, leaned away from Clover and hopped into the air whilst screaming. Qrow and Clover moved away as Kingfisher's cable was forcibly shook off along with the bolas as Tyrian dropped onto his back.

After shaking free of his restraints, he got to his feet, looking somewhat dizzy, and laughed maniacally. Robyn fired another bolt, and he turned to catch it between his teeth, looking back at Robyn with a smug grunt. There is a small noise, and the bolt began flashing red, before bursting into flame and exploding. As the smoke cleared, Tyrian was seen swaying on his feet, his Aura flickered and then finally broke. With a dazed laugh, he then collapsed. Robyn walked over to him, he somehow had the energy to look up at her and continued to laugh. That was, until she kicked him square in the face, knocking him out with ease. 

“That’s for Fiona, you son of a bitch.” Robyn leaned down with a smirk.  
“Where's that smile now?”

Qrow let out a huff of laughter, and Clover turned away to use his communicator.

“This is Clover. Requesting prisoner transport.”

As Robyn and Qrow lifted the now unconscious Tyrian to lean him against the wall, Clover couldn’t help but look back through the alleyway, wondering where Watts could be.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

A Manta flew towards the Amity Communications Tower. Soon afterward, Watts is walking through one of the Colosseum's hallways, supplies and ladders still lined the walls and cables hung from the ceiling. Signs of history and construction lay in these empty halls, showing both the past and Ironwood’s hopeful future.

What a pointless hope.

Watts reached the arena and looked around. “Hmm… This will certainly do the trick. Although I wouldn't exactly call it finished.”

Suddenly, metal doors slammed shut on all entrances into the arena, and Ironwood's voice echoed throughout the Colosseum.

“Arthur Watts…”

The arena lights and the light inside the commentator's booth switched on, and Watts looked over his shoulder at the booth, where Ironwood is stood holding a microphone, smiling at him.

“Welcome.”

Watts walked across the arena floor, toward the booth, staring up at him.

“It wasn't finished... it was bait.” He said, narrowing his eyes.

Ironwood tossed aside the microphone and leaped out of the booth, landing on the arena floor in a kneel, slowly standing up to face Watts.

“You know, James, this place has always been a technological marvel.” Watts tossed his bag out of the arena, and the two approached each other.  
“Truly. Even before you went and, uh, did all this.”

They began walking in a circle, keeping their eyes tunnelled in on each other. Watching... waiting.

“The different types of Dust, the biome system, and of course, everything that goes into controlling them.” Watts said, holding up his right hand and wiggling his fingers. 

The rings on all eight of his fingers began glowing cyan, and he slammed his hand onto the floor. The arena emitted a low ping noise, and four of the biome randomizer screens appeared, the four panels that did not have screens above them began receding. Watts straightened up...

BANG!

There is a gunshot, Watts blocked the bullet with a hard-light shield projected from his rings. 

Ironwood is aiming Due Process, his white revolver, at him. “You always were a pain in the ass.”

The biome randomizer screens finally stopped spinning through the options and all four of them landed on a purple icon depicting levitating platforms; the Gravity Biome. The remaining four panels receded, and Watts looked around at the environment. 

BANG!

Ironwood fired another shot just as Watts began running. 

Let the games begin.

Ironwood continued firing at Watts, who leapt off the panel into the biome below. Gravity platforms began rising up from the four sections that had the randomizer screens. Ironwood looked around, watching these biomes rise up. Finally, he saw Watts standing on a levitating platform on the fourth and final biome that he looked at.

“At the risk of sounding cliche, James…” Watts drew his revolver, spinning the chamber and aiming it at Ironwood.  
“I won't be going down without a fight.”

From the middle of the arena, Ironwood stared up at Watts, analysing what to do. He heard lava geysers shooting up from the fire biome to the left somewhere behind him, and another geyser came up from the right of the gravity biome Watts was in. 

Watts kept his revolver trained on Ironwood, who drew his black revolver and aimed it behind himself. Watts pulled back the hammer of his gun.

“Nineteen.”

Ironwood fired a Gravity Dust bullet from his black gun, launching himself towards the gravity biome. Watts fired his own shot at Ironwood, who fired another Gravity Dust bullet to the side to dodge it. Ironwood then fired yet another Gravity Dust bullet to put himself back on course toward the gravity biome. 

Once he got near Watts, he fired another bullet to his left, sending him toward a floating wall on his right, which he kicked off of to put himself in the air above Watts. Not expecting this move, Watts had began to aim his revolver at Ironwood and instead ended up looking up at him in surprise before jumping away just as Ironwood came down and punched with his right hand. The hit connected with the floor, and as Ironwood got back up, he tossed his black revolver into the air and caught it by the muzzle, having flipped it around.

Watts once again attempted to aim, but Ironwood swung the handle of his revolver at Watts' face. Watts leaned back to dodge, leaving an opening for Ironwood to punch him in the torso. While Watts is still in the air, Ironwood spun around and kicked him in the gut, sending him flying across a gap to another platform. Watts righted himself in mid-air and landed on his toes, sliding backwards. He barely managed to lean his torso to the side to dodge a normal bullet, then he blocked two more normal bullets with his Hard-Light shield. He aimed his gun at Ironwood.

“Eighteen.”

Watts fired and then activated one of his rings. Ironwood rolled out of the way of the Electricity Dust bullet that Watts had fired at him. He got up in a kneeling position and aimed his white revolver at Watts, but there is a dull ping noise, followed by the gravity around Ironwood changing to levitate him into the air. There is another dull ping, and Ironwood is slammed into a floating wall, grunting in pain.

Watts smirked and ran away, jumping to another platform, Ironwood got up and gave chase along the floating walls. There is another dull ping, and Ironwood began to fall from the wall he is standing on. He fired a Gravity Dust bullet from his black gun to throw himself onto the adjacent platform and rolled across the floor. The force of the Gravity Dust bullet proved to be a little too much, as Ironwood stumbled over to the edge once he got on his feet. As he teetered on the edge, he fired his white revolver, using the recoil to steady himself and stay on the platform.

Meanwhile, Watts created small Hard-Light platforms to traverse over the sunken geyser biome towards another floating stage. Ironwood followed him across, barely managing to make it from one Hard-Light platform to another before they disappeared. He fired at Watts, who activated one of his rings, triggering a geyser beneath Ironwood. Ironwood cried out as the boiling water hit him and threw him to the side.

As he fell, Ironwood aimed his black gun below him and shot a Gravity Dust bullet, sending him flying back up into the air to land on the gravity biome that Watts had fled to. He ran up a wall and onto the underside of a platform. He and Watts ran parallel with one another, firing wildly at each other, with Ironwood using his white gun to shoot and Watts using his Hard-Light shield to defend. Watts shot two Fire Dust bullets at Ironwood, the first bullet missed, but the second bullet hit, causing Ironwood's Aura to flicker.

“Fourteen, thirteen.”

Ironwood leapt across the gap towards Watts, who activated a ring, causing the gravity to shift and Ironwood to fall down to the platform below. As he fell, Ironwood used his black gun to fire a bullet, which hit Watts hard, knocking him off his platform and into a wall. Ironwood landed on his feet, while Watts fell along the wall, landing on his shoulder and joining him on the same platform.

While Watts started to get up on his hands and knees, Ironwood holstered his revolvers and walked over to kick him in the gut, knocking him into the wall. The force of the kick landed Watts on his feet, just in time for Ironwood to use the momentum and punch him in the head. Watts attempted to strike back, jabbing with both hands, but Ironwood ducked to the sides to avoid his fists, grabbed onto Watts' upper arm and punched him hard in the ribs. He then grabbed Watts by the throat and pressed him up against the wall, lifting him high up from the floor. 

Watts aimed his revolver at Ironwood's face and shot two bullets, forcing Ironwood to let go and dodge. Ironwood grabbed Watts' wrist, reached across his back to draw his white gun, and aimed it at Watts. Leaning to the side, Watts grabbed the underside of Ironwood's gun, and jumped up and over him, whilst the General fired his gun aimlessly as Watts still gripped the muzzle in his hand. 

Due to his wrist being twisted around, Ironwood is forced to let go of Watts, who then let go of his gun. Ironwood turned to aim, but Watts shot first, firing an Electricity Dust bullet, which Ironwood blocked with his right arm. Watts flew backwards, turned in mid-air and landed on the floor.

“Ten.”

Ironwood checked his prosthetic arm for a moment and then fired at Watts, who fled. Ironwood chased, and Watts used a ring to change the gravity once again, running up a wall in front of him. As he chased, Ironwood fired at him several times. Watts turned and shot twice, the second bullet being Ice Dust knocked the black gun from Ironwood's hand. Watts fired one more Fire Dust bullet and then ran up onto the top of the wall.

“Seven.”

He shut off the gravity for the wall and ran, but Ironwood managed to grab onto the edge with his left hand and pull himself up. Once he reached the top, he saw Watts fleeing to another gravity biome on Hard-Light platforms. Instead of following, Ironwood looked off to the left.

Immediately after Watts arrived in the other gravity biome, a lava geyser erupted from the sunken fire biome below. Watts turned back to look around, and when the lava fell, he was surprised to have lost sight of Ironwood. As Watts peeked over the edge at the fire biome, Ironwood leaped up onto a platform behind him and began running.

“Hmph.” Watts huffed, assuming he was gone.

BANG!

Ironwood fired, striking Watts' shoulder and causing his Aura to flicker. Watts cried out in pain, then turned and angrily fired Ice Dust, freezing Ironwood's right foot to the floor. Watts moved up to the underside of a platform above them. Ironwood shot the ice trapping his leg, shattering it easily, and ran towards Watts whilst firing at him. Watts blocked the shots with his shield and returned several of them, normal bullets at first, followed by a series of Electricity Dust bullets.

Ironwood and Watts leaped and grappled onto each other's hands, rotating in the air due to the conflicting gravitational fields. Ironwood let go of Watts' gun and punched him in the jaw, Watts countered by headbutting him. The gravity changed again, and the two fell onto the underside of a platform, landing on their sides. They got up, and Watts activated one of his rings in an attempt to get away, only for Ironwood to grab his ankle and slam him onto the floor. Watts' Aura flickers and broke from the impact.

Watts got up and aimed his revolver, only to see Ironwood already charging towards him. Ironwood tackled him, and the two went flying from the gravity biome, turning and flailing as they entered the arena’s true gravitational pull. They both slammed into the floor of the center platform used for the Singles Rounds, the impact breaking Ironwood's Aura. As he slid across the floor, Watts righted himself into a kneel and used his rings to rise up the platform slowly. 

Ironwood got up, checking his gun's ammo whilst panting, he saw he had no bullets left so he clicked the revolving chamber away and flipped his gun around to hold it by the muzzle.

“You never appreciated my genius, James.” Watts shouted.  
“You just stood atop it and called yourself a giant!”

Watts, also holding his revolver by its muzzle, charged forward and attempted to slam the side of his left fist into Ironwood's face. He missed. Watts then slammed the butt of his revolver into Ironwood's nose, causing him to recoil and stumble back. Punches and swings were exchanged between the two, some landing and some missing.

Ironwood landed a strike at his face and whilst Watts was turned away, Ironwood went to jab him with his revolver, but Watts turned and put his left arm up to stop Ironwood's right arm. The force of Ironwood’s arm caused Watts to bend at his knees, so he then slammed his revolver into Ironwood's chest, causing him to stumble back and cry in pain.

“I gave you everything you could have wanted!” Ironwood retaliated.

“You chose that fat imbecile over me!”

The platform had finally stopped rising, docking itself in an octogonal ring just under the Communication Tower’s machinery. Ironwood pushed forwards, striking Watts as many times as he could, slowing backing him into a corner. As they neared a metal beam, Watts saw how he was being pressured and desperately hit Ironwood's face with his revolver. He attempted to take the offensive as Ironwood recoiled from the blow, however, Ironwood recovered and punched Watts in the gut hard enough to send him flying back against the metal beam.

Now, with his back quite literally against the wall, Watts panicked and grabbed Ironwood’s arm before he could hit him. He then aimed his own revolver at Ironwood's head, with the General grabbing his wrist.

The click of the revolver was heard, and the two stood locked in place.

Watts chuckled. “I suppose in this instance, my brains and your brawn are evenly matched.”

Ironwood stared Watts in the eyes, not seeming to care that the barrel of a gun was pressed to his temple. “You're smart, but you're not the only one who can count.”

There was a small pause as both men panted from exertion. Finally, Watts lowered his gun and Ironwood let go of his wrist. 

Ironwood started to calm down, but is soon alerted by the tone in Watts' voice.

“Oh, I know.”

In an instant, Watts dropped his gun to the floor. Ironwood only looked down at it for a split second, and Watts used that opportunity to grab Ironwood's left wrist and swing him around, trading places with him. He shoved Ironwood's arm through a gap in the metal beam and jumped away, collapsing to the floor. 

Ironwood looked on in horror as four of Watts' rings are placed within the gap in the beam, the Hard-Light shield now activated and trapping his left arm. Ironwood attempted to pull his arm through, only for the barrier to tear and burn his skin, causing him to scream in pain.

“That was a little too close for my liking, James.” Watts got up, flexing his fingers and then making a fist.  
“Rebuilding those rings is going to be such a pain.”

Ironwood glared at him as he turned to begin walking away.

“Now, if you'll excuse me.”

Ironwood gripped his upper arm, pulling it through the barrier again, groaning and wincing as he went. Seething white pain shot through his nerves, a cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck and his vision blurred with spots. The overwhelming nausea and agony he felt threatened to swallow him whole.

Watts tutted. “I wouldn't do that if I were you. I mean, unless you're hoping to add more metal to that body of yours.”

Ironwood stopped for a moment, gasping for air in order to keep himself awake and not pass out from the pain. He closed his eyes and resumed pulling. Watts didn’t notice, using his remaining rings to highlight portions of the tower's machinery in cyan boxes.

“All right now, where did they put them?” He muttered.

Behind him, a cry was heard along with a dull thud. Watts' eyes widened, and he looked over his shoulder to see Ironwood sitting up from the floor, panting, with smoke rising from his left arm. 

Watts turned to face him, shocked. “What?!”

Ironwood stood, charged forwards, and used his right arm to grab Watts by the collar of his shirt. He slammed Watts onto the floor and continued running, scraping the right side of Watts' face against the floor and dragging his body, before lifting him up to dangle him over the edge of the platform. Lava bubbled and rose from the fire biome far below Watts, who stared down at it and then looked back at the panting Ironwood.

“I will sacrifice... whatever it takes... to stop her.”

Watts smirked, spitting blood from his mouth. “Oh, I hope you do, James. I hope you do.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The flight back to Atlas was supposed to be simple. But a certain truth has gotten in the way of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tryna be as angsty as I can 😂

The ship transporting the now arrested Tyrian had to head out towards the tundra, as flying directly up to Atlas from Mantle would risk having them attacked by airborne Grimm. It was safer for them to head far out and then loop back around to avoid Grimm and get up to the city with ease.

The cabin was quiet overall, Robyn and Qrow sat on the right side while Clover sat on the left with Tyrian, who was slowly waking up from his humiliating knockout. He grumbled awake and looked around the ship, seeing a rather unhappy Qrow and Robyn watching him. Oddly enough, he smiled at them, then looked over to his left to grin at Clover.

“We finally meet, soldier.”

Clover said nothing.

“The Doctor has told me many things about you.” He cackled.

“Oh shut up.” Robyn spat.  
“You won’t be laughing when you’re in a cell.”

“Hm, I doubt that.” Tyrian replied, continuing to giggle away to himself.

Qrow looked over and Clover, he seemed nervous as his jaw was clenched tightly and he looked pale.

“Don’t worry.” Qrow reassured.  
“Whatever information Watts managed to steal from Atlas won’t be going anywhere. Not if James has anything to say about it.”

“Oh, who said Watts stole anything?” Tyrian drawled, smiling as he bumped Clover with his shoulder.

“... What the hell does that mean?” Robyn asked.

“Sure, Watts used Jacques for access to the heating. But as for things such as... hmm, let’s say mission reports and updates on Ironwood’s behaviour, you had a little slip up.” Tyrian said, leaning forwards in his seat.

Qrow’s eyes widened. “Clover—“

“Don’t listen to him.” Clover said, turning to glare at Tyrian.  
“He’s lying.”

Tyrian merely laughed. “I’m the liar? You seem to be the one lying to yourself, dear soldier.”

“Bullshit.” Clover growled.

“There’s a traitor in your midst!” Tyrian proclaimed loudly, facing Qrow and Robyn while throwing up his restrained hands.  
“He’s been right under your nose this entire time!”

Robyn’s eyes narrowed. “If he’s telling the truth—“

“He’s not!” Clover snapped.  
“He’s just putting things in your head. There is no traitor.”

“Then why is he saying all this crap?” Robyn argued, gesturing to the giggly Faunus.

“I don’t know! He’s just—“

A ping went off from Qrow’s Scroll and he pulled it from his pocket, seeing a video message from Ruby on the screen, he played it.

“Ironwood’s declaring martial law and abandoning Mantle! Salem is coming and he's going to use the Staff to move Atlas. If we don't stop him Mantle's going to be de—“

The video cut out.

Robyn and Qrow stared blankly at the screen, before looking up at a silent Clover.

“Declaring martial law?” Robyn echoed.  
“We can not let him do this.”

Clover raised up his hand. “Ms. Hill, I'm sure the General understands the enormity of his—“

Clover's Scroll then made a noise, he brought it out to check it. The screen showed mugshots of RWBY, JNR, Oscar and Qrow. The text above the mugshots, read: "!WANTED! Detain on sight"

Clover paused. His motives were conflicting, on one hand there was Ironwood, on the other was Watts. He put his Scroll away and stood up with a heavy sigh, somehow, he was going to have to follow both.

Qrow gripped the hilt of his weapon. “Clover…”

Robyn's Scroll vibrated, and she brought it out to see the same Wanted notification.

Clover squeezed his eyes shut before looking down at him. “Qrow, you should know that I've been asked to bring you in.”

Tyrian laughed. “A free ride and a show!”

Clover felt the need to warn him. “There's also an alert out for Team RWBY's arrest.”

“What? Has James lost his mind!?” Qrow asked.

“He's trying to stop anybody who might get in the way of this inhumane plan.” Robyn stood up from her seat and deployed her crossbow.  
“Looks like he underestimated me. Again.”

“Only Qrow is under arrest. After everything we've been through tonight please don't make me arrest you too.” Clover warned.

Robyn clenched her teeth and glared at Clover, the bolt on her crossbow being pulled back against the string. “Oh yeah? You suddenly got a heart... traitor?”

In response, Clover drew his fishing rod.

Qrow stepped in. “Cut it out! Both of you. We're almost back to Atlas. Let's talk to James personally and—“

“It's taking a very long time for this show to get to the good part.” Tyrian complained.

“Shut up.” Qrow growled.

“He's right. Let's get this over with.”

“Robyn!”

Robyn fired the bolt, but Clover knocked it away with his fishing rod. She shifted her crossbow into its bladed shield form and charged at Clover, who blocked and then immediately shortened the rod, hooked the crossbow and pulled on it, knocking Robyn to the floor.

Qrow let out an annoyed sigh. “Fine.”

Qrow got up, drew his sword and swung it at Clover, who jumped out of the way. He swung again, and Clover blocked with his rod, locking weapons with him.

“I wish it hadn't come to this.” Clover admitted.

Qrow ignored the feeling of tears in his eyes. “It doesn't have to!”

Robyn hopped back into the fight, swinging her shield down on Clover's rod, making him jump away from the two.

“You can hug it out once we've taken him down! Though I doubt it, since it seems he’s working for Watts.” She said.

Clover sent his fishing hook at Robyn, who deflected it with her shield, accidentally sending it towards Tyrian. Lifting his leg out of the way, the hook broke a bar beneath his seat, which the Bolas securing his wrists was hooked onto with a metal ring. Qrow and Robyn struck their weapons at Clover, who held up his rod for defence, meanwhile, Tyrian slid the ring on his bolas off of the broken bar and hurried toward the pilots, excitedly snickering to himself. Clover continued blocking strikes and a crossbow bolt from Qrow and Robyn.

Suddenly, the ship shook, causing the three of them to fall over. Hearing maniacal laughter, Qrow looked up to see Tyrian crouched on the ship's console, wearing the pilot's hat, who is slumped over dead. Qrow hurried to his feet, grabbed onto Tyrian's shook him.

“What are you doing!?”

“The will of our goddess!!” Tyrian screamed, kicking off of Qrow and landing in the lap of the dead Atlas soldier. He then grabbed onto the co-pilot control stick and jerked it to the side, causing the ship to veer towards the ground. Clover opened the airship's side door and jumped out. Soon after, the ship crashed into the ground, and Robyn yelled as the impact knocks her over.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Qrow felt the icy chill of snow and metal pressed on his face. He stumbled out of the wrecked Manta and saw Robyn lying among the debris. His stomach dropped, and he hurried over to her, pressing his fingers to her neck. There was a pulse, he sighed in relief.

“Robyn needs help.”

That voice now brought nausea to his stomach. Qrow stood and turned to see Clover walking towards him.

“Surrender and we can take her to Atlas, get her patched up.”

“Really? I’d figure by now that Atlas would be the last place you’d wanna go.” Qrow replied, picking up Harbinger from the debris.

“She still needs help.” Clover said.

“Surprised you care.”

“Qrow... I don’t want to waste lives.” Clover collapsed Kingfisher and put it on his belt.

Qrow mimicked him, sheathing his own weapon. “Was it true?”

“What?” Clover asked.

“Any of it... anything you told me about yourself... was it true?”

Clover’s brow weighed heavy on his face, a look of remorse. “... Yes.”

“Why...” Qrow’s voice cracked, he felt his eyes burning.  
“Why are you doing this? Your family... what would they say about this?”

“They wouldn’t say anything.”

“Why no—“

“They’re dead, Qrow.” Clover said, his fists clenched tightly.

Qrow’s heart sank, he slowly walked towards Clover. “That still doesn’t explain why you would do this. If anything you should be fighting for Atlas, against people like Watts and Tyrian, for their sake. To fight for their home, your home Clover!”

“This is not my home!” Clover yelled, making Qrow flinch.  
“Ever since they died, this place has been nothing but hell for me! A reminder of my failures! I’ve had to live with this for ten years... I’m sick of not doing something.”

“What do you mean?” Qrow asked, now standing in front of Clover.  
“What are you going to do?”

“... Kill James.”

Qrow took a step back, his heart dropped to his stomach. “What?”

“They’re dead because of him... because of the Paladin Incident. Watts too, but I can’t kill him... not with Salem watching over his back. If it wasn’t for James, his arrogance, none of this... NONE of this would have happened to my family.”

“So you’re willing to side with Salem?”

“I spent years debating whether or not I should do this. But now? With James off the rails? I don’t see why not.”

Qrow’s eyes welled with tears. “No...”

“I’m sorry, Qrow... I really am.” Clover reached out his hand, but Qrow shoved him back.

“No! All this time... none of it mattered. You were just going to turn your back on all of us!... on me...”

“At this point I don’t have much choice.” Clover said.  
“If I back out now, I die. That’s the deal.”

“It shouldn’t have to be.”

“Qrow—“

“You’ve got Atlas! You’ve got t-the Ace-Ops... and me. You could fight this... WE could fight this. You don’t have to follow Salem.” Qrow was desperate to reason with him.

“Qrow...” Clover shook his head.  
“I can’t.”

Qrow stepped away from him, mouth gaped and tears threatening to spill, but he didn’t allow them. He wiped them away furiously, and drew his weapon into its scythe form.

“Never pegged you for the manipulative or liar type. But I guess I've learned a lot of things tonight.”

They began walking in a circle around each other.

“I enjoyed working with you, you know. Even with that endless cynicism of yours.” Clover said, a small smile on his face.

“I'm usually proven right.” Qrow growled.

Clover’s smile disappeared and he stopped. “We don't have to fight, Qrow.”

Qrow scoffed. “You don't know my life... That's how it always goes.”

Qrow smiled bitterly, and Clover sighed. The two of them charged toward each other and swinged their weapons.

“You could still turn back now, I wouldn’t hold it against you.” Qrow said.

“Not an option.” Clover replied coldly.


End file.
